When the Answer is right under your Nose?
How many times have you lost an important piece of paper, or your car keys, and find them in a drawer that you already shuffled through 3 times before you noticed them there?
Or you contemplate a solution for a work problem, or a leadership issue, and just can not get your head around how to proceed or solve.
You happen to share the concern with your colleagues and in a short time, the fog lifts and answer becomes crystal clear. Feeling the emotion of frustration with yourself, you want to kick yourself for expending so much personal energy, when the answer seem to be right under your nose.
The Answer is in the Room
In the work environment, I have learned that the answer is not under my nose, but it is in the room among my colleagues. To daily solve problems that arise or enhance or improve things, the larger answer is developing a culture that is solution oriented.
The leadership responsibility is to create a culture that enjoys problem solving and views problems as opportunities to learn and grow. A culture that enjoys innovation and creative thinking, self reflection, and processing, will be a culture that people will feel the emotions of accomplishment and achievement from successful solutions.
In many organizations there seems to always be numerous decisions to make, or situations that beckon critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Healthcare and other service industries deals with people with unique needs that require individual attention. Therefore there is always the demand to continuously improve services and the need for excellence tomorrow to be better than excellence today.
The ultimate setting for problem solving originates from intentionally developing a work culture that is built on strong values that cultivate an environment of excellence.
Core Values for a Thriving Workplace
The following are examples of core values that foster an environment that thrives on innovative and creative solutions in the workplace:
- Collaborative Leadership: Leadership that is shared. Working collectively problems are addressed and solutions developed.
- Teamwork: Teamwork makes the dream work. Best solutions or outcomes exist when the collective brain power is shared among people.
- Value of Valuing: People that feel valued as a human being, possessing talents and strengths will be willing to contribute to the common good for an organization that includes problem solving.
- Continuous Improvement: Sharing the mindset that there is always room to improve and enhance processes or situations. Transforming and evolving is a part of everyday activities.
- Learning Environment: Asking questions and learning from the discovery process of exploration.
- Integrity: An environment that believes in doing the right thing in all situations is an trusting environment. Trust provides freedom and a safe environment among colleagues to be more vulnerable in sharing and expressing their thoughts and ideas.
The Answer is the People
When I state that the answer is in the room, it is within the people that make up the room. In other words, the people actually doing the work in the area of expertise that the problem exist will bring the best insight and value to finding the most optimal solutions.
You see the answer may not be directly under your nose, but it will be in the ROOM!
