TEAM PROBLEM SOLVING

Problem solving, the ability of team members to develop creative solutions

to pressing organizational challenges, is at the core of a team’s activities.
Our research shows that a team’s problem-solving abilities—its ability to
identify the right problem, generate many ideas, build on those ideas, test
them out, and implement the feasible ones—is one of the
most important predictors of team success. Simply put, when teams use
systematic processes and skills to enhance the quality of their thinking, they
increase their “team IQ.”Team Problem Solving.

Team Decisions:
When problems arise in your organization they need to be dealt with
immediately and with a collectively developed problem solving process.
Those affected by both the problem and its solution need to be a part of the
team that goes through the process and develops solutions to resolve the
underlying issues that cause it. The following are ten components of any
such problem solving process that, if observed, will lead to effective and
lasting solutions to the problems you face.

1. Team members readily contribute from their experience and listen to the
contributions of others.

2. Disagreements arising from different points of view are considered helpful;

they are seen as the crucible out of which unambiguous and honest solutions
can flow.

3. Team members challenge suggestions they believe are unsupported by

facts or logic but avoid arguing just to have their way or to be noticed for
their own individual input.

4. Poor solutions are not supported just for the sake of harmony or
agreement.

5. Differences of opinion are discussed and resolved. Coin tossing, averaging,

straw-drawing, majority vote and similar cop-outs are avoided when making
a decision.

6. Every team member strives to make the problem solving process efficient
and is careful to facilitate rather than hinder discussion; each member
strives to encourage and applaud individual efforts to contribute as well as
the contributions themselves.

7. Team members encourage and support co-workers who are reluctant to

offer ideas or to offer differing views from those already expressed.

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8. Team members understand the value of time and work to eliminate
extraneous and/or repetitious discussion.

9. Team decisions are not arbitrarily overruled by the leader simply because
he/she doesn't agree with them; each member is committed to respecting
each other's views and to honoring the sources of these views as being
legitimate and sincere.

10. The team understands that the leader will make the best decision he or
she can if a satisfactory team solution is not forthcoming; they each agree to
support and promote the decision that results from the problem solving
process whether it is made collectively by the team or individually by the
leader of the team.

A PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS

The tremendous value of a problem-solving process is that it helps to align

our thinking and action around a common approach to the following actions.

Nine Steps: Tips and techniques for winning team problem-solving version
of the problem-solving process incorporates many of the techniques suit
team’s needs.

Step 1: Select the Problem

To select a problem, follow these steps:
• Begin with team’s mission and vision.
• Identify the gaps between desired future state and current reality.
• List all barriers to achieving future state; these are your problems.
• Collect data from customers and stakeholders.
• Choose problem using relevant criteria (payoff, speed, “bee in the
bonnet” issue, etc.).

Step 2: Explore the Problem

Assess possible causes and interpretations of the problem:
• Collect the facts.
• Examine all sides.
• Define stakeholder interests.
• Surface assumptions.

Step 3: Establish Success Criteria

Set objective standards for evaluating possible solutions:
• Review the stakeholder interests that must be met.
• Identify the boundaries that must be respected (e.g., legislation, time
Frames, policies).

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 • Challenge all boundaries to reduce blocks to creativity.
• Connect the success criteria back to the mission and vision.

Step 4: Develop a Problem-Solving Statement or Goal

• Write a problem or goal statement that all members are committed
to solving.
• Review and gain agreement on the expectations of the team to
Decide , recommend, or simply generate options.
• Gain agreement on the method of decision making: vote, consensus,
etc.

Step 5: Generate Many Options

Expand the thinking to create many options:
• Brainstorm.
• Dialogue.
• Combine ideas.
• Do not evaluate.

Step 6: Assess Options

Evaluate options against the previously established success criteria:
• Ask which options best meet our needs.
• Develop a matrix of options and criteria and rank each option.
• Eliminate options with flaws.

Step 7: Select Preferred Solution

Identify and select the option(s) that best meet success criteria.
• Consider the consequences of preferred options.
• Consider the pluses, minuses, and so what’s of each option.
• Ask how options can be combined or modified to create superior
solutions.
• Review the agreed-upon solution and test for consensus.

Step 8: Develop an Action Plan

• Create goals and action plans specifying individual and team
accountabilities.

Step 9: Test and Modify

Evaluate the success of your efforts:
• Assess metrics to determine if the solution is achieving the intended
goal.
• Assess whether stakeholders are pleased with the solution.

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 CASE STUDY

Problem solving technique helps industry Leader Deliver Superior

Quality.

The Company is a leading provider of high-performance semiconductor

products in the global marketplace. They needed their engineers to have an
exceptional ability to quickly identify the root cause of production problems
and implement flawless solutions. This challenge was compounded by two
factors: First, semiconductor manufacturing is an extremely complex
process, where years of interrelated factors must be considered in order to
resolve even the simplest production problem Second, the semiconductor
industry is highly competitive and fast-paced When problems are
encountered, engineers must use a rapid, accurate process to correctly
identify the root cause of problems, or risk losing business.

The Solution
Action Management Associates, Inc. (AMAI’s) objective was to provide
repeatable processes that would enable trained employees to more quickly
and accurately isolate the root cause of problems and develop and
implement new solutions with less rework and fire-fighting. The solution was
to introduce a suite of results-oriented, practical Problem Solving and
Decision making (PSDM) tools and techniques to the company.

The Action Management Wheel illustrates the dynamic nature of all the
PSDM workshop
processes and the critical and creative thinking components the Company
used. Teamwork is the hub and the Wheel rolls logically from quality of
solution to quality of implementation.
The Company certified two internal instructors to deliver Action

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Management PROBLEM SOLVING & DECISION MAKING workshops and their
unique Sustain the Impact system to follow up and recognize workshop
participants.

The Result
With an investment of just over $100,000, the Company reported over
$40,000,000 in positive bottom-line impact from using PSDM processes to
resolve nearly 100 product and process-related issues.

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