When faced with complex issues, many people tend to give up. They tend to say things like, “It’s too hard,” “What’s the use of trying?” or “I just can’t do it.” Certainly, it is easy to feel this way and get discouraged from even trying. They might focus on circumstances when team members make mistakes or a project doesn’t go according to plan. They can feel like they have failed and should give up, because they cannot see past failure.
Typically people give up when success is just ahead of them. Research has shown that most organizations close over as little as a $45 dollar bill they cannot pay, and just before they would have broken through the challenge they were facing. When we are working hard, it is easy to feel defeated and lose hope that things can change.
Leaders should do three key things to change the outcome. The first key is to shift your focus. If you stare at a problem long enough, that is all you can see. You lose sight of possible solutions, or strategies you could use to be successful in spite of the challenges. Our focus has to remain focused on solutions and innovation or we will not prevail.
Secondly, it is key to ask ourselves great questions to reach the best answers. So often our questions are technical and have to do with how to speed up a process, or how to correct an error. While not bad questions, they are not the right questions when facing huge complex issues. Instead, consider questions such as “What other processes have been used in other situations that might inform this one?” or “What is our real goal and is there a better way to reach that goal?” or “What haven’t we considered yet that might shed a different light on this situation?” Asking different questions opens our minds to new possibilities.
The third key is understanding that mistakes do not define our long-term future or our identity. Mistakes and mishaps are part of the learning and education we need to become effective leaders. We cannot learn critical lessons only from a book; rather, we need to embrace life lessons and learn from them. Doing so provides opportunities for our growth as leaders, for our teams to gain confidence in exploring new ideas and for our organizations to flourish.
Start using these keys and watch for great possibilities to emerge!
