How To Be Solution Focused

2022-06-24

At some point, in corporate jobs, employees will be asked to do things they don’t know how to do. Most will react with outrage, saying things like, “It is not part of my job. Why would they ask me to do this?!”

Then they make excuses like, “It's unrealistic” or, “It's not possible”. All to cover up their fear of embarrassment over their lack of knowledge and skill.

These people are too focused on the problem. They become paralyzed through over-analysis, having too many choices, lack of understanding, and/or feeling there is not enough time to learn the skills to do the task.

Too many reactions like this will give the employee a bad reputation. They will be seen as more trouble than they’re worth and eventually the company will let them go.

When employees are hired they sign an agreement to work for the company. That agreement specifies the minimum requirements and responsibilities of the role. Most employment agreements do not limit what the employer can ask employees to do.

If an employee feels they are repeatedly being asked to do things outside the scope of their position. It is important they have a meeting with their direct manager and/or the head of the department to clarify the role. It helps if they write out their questions before the meeting. Then, write down the answers during the meeting. Listening with the intent to learn and understand.

Example questions:

• Can you explain in detail the requirements and responsibilities of this role?
• Does that definition of this role include all the types of tasks that could be assigned?
• If you were in this role what task would you consider unreasonable?
• If I’m assigned a task that seems unrealistic or out of scope what steps should I take?

After the meeting its important the employee creates an email. Thanking the manager for their time and help. With a similar message to this: “Please review this list of questions and answers to make sure I didn’t miss anything.” Making sure to include a written list of their questions and the word-for-word answers from their manager.

This email serves as documented proof for both the employee and manager that everyone understands the definition of the employee’s role and the responsibilities that go along with it. It further ensures that if in the future any unreasonable tasks are assigned the employee can pull this email out as a refinement of the scope of their employment agreement.

How To Be Solution Focused

Once the employee is clear on the requirements and responsibilities of their role. It's helpful to have a system for accomplishing individual tasks.

Here’s a step-by-step guide.

1. The employee should first put themself in a positive confident mood and clear mental space with no distractions. Being in a good mood helps creative problem solving.
2. Clarify the task with the context, file name, location, scope, time frame, required assets, and desired result. Do not make assumptions. Any vague language will be misunderstood, slowing down productivity.
3. The employee should ask, “How can I accomplish this task? What options do I have?” This should spark their creative imagination. Helping them generate solutions.
4. If the employee gets confused or stuck, it's important they reach out to their lead, manager, or another person for help. Nothing great in history was ever built by a single individual. Asking for help is the sign of a good employee who wants to be part of the team.

When employees find themselves frustrated it's usually due to a lack of clear requirements or focusing too much on the problem. Things will work more smoothly if they remember to stay positive, ask for help, and ask themselves, “How can I do this?”