Be Fearless – Tackle the Big Problems!

 

Have you ever been in a leadership position and ignored an important problem? This is something new leaders often do early on. Sometimes even experienced leaders can fall into that trap.

Why does it happen? Are you “cherry picking” the problems you will address, but focusing on those with easy solutions? Are you ignoring the tough problems because they involve confrontation with team members or maybe with those to whom you report? Or are you just so tied up in the day to day that things slip through the cracks because you are not paying attention?

If you are like many people, your instincts are telling you which are the important problems you need to deal with right now, but you are ignoring them and are taking the route of least resistance, dealing with other problems. Why? Maybe because it's easier that way. Maybe they are more aligned with the things you enjoy doing or the people with whom you like to work. Maybe because it's simply more fun. Important problems belong on your Get Done ASAP list, not your ever-lengthening To-Do list.

Be sure not to confuse urgency with importance – sometimes that looming deadline is not actually important, or the consequences of missing it are near zero. Is it an urgent problem with zero importance? Are you wasting your valuable energy on it when there are so many more important items on your list? Be aware and know what you are dealing with.

Good things happen when you deal with important problems you’ve been avoiding. Avoidance is often a signal that others see the same problem and don’t want to address it either due to the difficulty or absence of an easy solution. Be the leader who addresses those sticky important issues head on, taking an approach called for by the situation. You’ll be surprised how people will respect you for taking on those tough problems, and how open dialogue, if appropriate, will cause solutions to appear on the horizon where none existed before.

Brainstorm, use a “yes-anding” approach and reasonable solutions will turn up. Focus on the problem, not the people. Avoid negative words like no, but and however.  Use positive words like “yes”, “and”, and “also”. These words increase the realm of solutions instead of narrowing them. Filter out the solutions that will likely not work only after all they are all on the table. Avoid trashing before asking.

Avoidance may be a reasonable risk strategy, but it is not one for important problems. Follow those instincts, ignore the fear, and eliminate the procrastination. Deal with it now, because problems are not like red wine and cheese. They don’t get better with age. They invariably get worse… far worse.

So create a Get Done ASAP list and tackle those difficult problems. Mentor your team to do the same. You will soon feel a sense of relief in clearing an important item off your list, and most often will find that it was not as tough as you thought.  

“Either you run the day or the day runs you.  Don’t wish it was easier.  Wish you were better.”

“Don’t wish for fewer problems. Wish for more skills.  Don’t wish for less challenge.  Wish for more wisdom.”

   - Jim Rohn, Entrepreneur, 1930-2009