How do you navigate a difficult problem? Take control. Before you can proceed through the dangerous field, you essentially need to create a map, otherwise there is no way to know whether your next step will be in the right direction. The first step in taking control is to take a step back, and ask some fundamental questions:
- What are the symptoms of the problem?
- What changed when the problem first started?
- Are all the right people engaged?
In practical terms, the best way to take control is to get everyone involved with the problem in a room or on a conference bridge, and make yourself the focal point by asking these questions, taking answers, and then summarizing the collective view until it is clear, concise and agreed upon by the majority. You need not be a manager to take control in this way: I have often seen front-line technical people, sometimes out of frustration, take control of a problem in this way. This is a great opportunity to showcase your leadership abilities–there is nothing like showcasing your skills during a crisis to highlight your abilities to the rest of the organization.
You will find that once you take control of a problem and have answers to these questions, this will lead to other questions and courses of action that the team was not previously thinking about. The solution to the problem may still end up being complex, but if you retain control and keep everyone pulling in the same direction, you will undoubtedly get to a solution in less time and less frustration.
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