If you have ever worked in a fast-paced environment you know that there are a lot of things going on quickly and it is inevitable that something will go wrong at some point. When that happens, many people have a natural inclination to focus on the problem and worry about how it cannot be solved. However, leaders and people with true leadership potential are not focusing on the problem. These people immediately jump to, “how do we fix it?”
This might be partially natural, but it is also learned and trained. These people have found out through experience that leaders in their life take action. They don’t just mope around and whine about the problems. In a workplace it is easy for the “big boss” to distinguish leaders from followers by seeing who looks for solutions instead of focusing on problems. This is a part of the unspoken criteria that helps advance people in a corporate hierarchy.
Unlike some of our steps to success, this is a skill that we can start practicing immediately in our lives. Whether you were in school or working, there are small problems that occur in our daily lives. Next time you face one of these issues try to consciously focus on the solution to the problem rather than worrying about the problem itself. This is something that will take practice. Our brains naturally want to focus on the issue at hand and it can be easy to spiral and worry about that problem. With a little work, we can retrain our brains to stop focusing on the problem and start working on a solution.
Next time you run into a problem at school, home, or work take a second and think about the bigger situation. Give yourself the space to look at the bigger picture. When the problem arises, we often react emotionally instead of rationally. Taking a moment and really thinking about what is going on can help us understand things that we might have missed initially. Once you have taken yourself out of the emotional reaction, you are better equipped to come up with a responsible solution. This won’t always be the easiest way to tackle challenges but finding a solution to your problem will be satisfying in the end. Next time you have a problem come up, try to solve it. Even if it is small and you would generally just let it go, the practice of solving things can help train your brain to be solution-oriented. Developing this skill is so important to becoming a successful leader,
-Bria