What’s the problem, whose responsibility, Can they address it?

I ask this because as a project manager of sorts I spend a bulk of my day addressing problems, both ones I inherited and some I created. We are patterned to seek the negative as a defense mechanism, we want to keep the bad away from us………so of course we see the bad most easily. This however why wheels turning a bit when it comes to our local issues. So I ask the question, what problem is most pressing in your universe?

For this exercise I am going to walk you through 4 secondary questions to ask yourself once you have articulated a problem or found a negative.

  1. State the problem. Use a clear statement, and articulate why you observe it to be an issue.
  2. Stop and think of whose responsibility it is/could be to address the problem. This could fall to a person, a department, or an entire organization.
  3. Ask yourself if the person, department, or organization is equipped to address or solve the problem.

Take a second to walk through a problem you observe and record the result. Thought exercises like this help us better understand what is truly in our ability to control and also what our organizations and those we interface can legitimately do to turn the negative into a positive.

Over the last few weeks and months I have tried my darnedest to ask these questions myself and I can tell you that I have seen a change internally. Take some time to ask these same questions of the problems you are facing and hopefully you can emerge with clarity and understanding of what you can do about them.