Neil Thompson 
Effective Problem Solving [EPUB ebook] 

About the author   

Acknowledgements  

Preface  

Foreword  

Introduction: who, why, what and how  

Why a manual?  

How do I use it?   

PART 1: Understanding people and their problems

PART 2: Problem-solving methods  

Introduction  

Important notes   

A Active listening   

• Show that you are paying attention  


• Avoiding attribution errors  


• Avoiding oversimplifying the reasons for people’s behaviour  


• Avoiding avoidance  


• Facing up to our responsibilities  

B Brainstorming   

• Maximising our range of options  


• Brokerage  


• Redirecting people to sources of help  

C Capitalizing on crisis  

• Realizing the potential of critical moments in a person’s life  


• The CBC approach – Putting people at their ease  


• Challenging cognitive distortions – Trying to get a balanced view of the situation  


• Chunk up or chunk down – Finding the right level of analysis  


• The CIA framework – Managing pressure and stress  


• Circular questioning – Establishing the importance of interrelationships  


• Confronting without being confrontational – Using assertiveness skills  


• Congruence -Getting on the same wavelength  


• Consequences – Exploring options and their likely outcomes  


• Cost-benefit analysis – Balancing the pros and cons  


• Creative tension – Making sure expectations are realistic  


• Critical incident technique – Learning from significant experiences  


• Culture audit -Making sense of organizational cultures  

D Dealing with objections  

• Persuading people to move forward  


• Developing a checklist  Save time and efforts with checklists  


• Doing the right things versus doing things right Balancing efficiency and effectiveness  


• The drama triangle Avoiding being drawn into being a ‘rescuer’  

E Eating an elephant   

• Being realistic about what we can achieve  


• Eco maps - Mapping out relationships across groups of people  


• Educating - Problem solving through helping people learn  


• Elegant challenging - Being constructive in challenging unacceptable behaviour or language  


• Embedded whys - Establishing reasons for our actions  


• The empty chair - Exploring the influence of an absent person  


• Encouraging creativity - Avoiding getting stuck in ruts  


• Exchange is no robbery - The importance of reciprocity  

F Failure mode and effects analysis  

• Anticipating failure and learning from it  


• Finding the growth zone Finding the balance between comfort and fear  


• Fishbone analysis A visual aid to problem solving  


• Fishing for red herrings Not allowing ourselves to get distracted  


• Force-field analysis Managing change  


• FORM good habits Use habits to gain greater control  

G Gantt charts  

Visual aids for project management  

• GIVE UP How to let go of negativity  


• Giving feedback Letting people know where they stand  


• Grief audit Getting an overview of people’s experiences of grief 

Helicopter vision  

• Obtaining an overview  


• Holding  Helping to provide emotional security  

I Inviting innocent questions  

• Getting a perspective from outside the situation you are dealing with  

K Know your enemy  

• Coping with anxiety  

L Lateral thinking  

• Finding new ways to think about problems and solutions  

M The magic wand  

• Getting as close to the ideal as possible  


• Making the most of meetings - Avoiding time and energy being wasted  


• Mind mapping - Developing a picture of the situation you are dealing with  


• Mitigate the effects - Minimize the effects  


• Modelling and use of self - Using yourself as a tool to help others  


• Motivational interviewing - Using ambivalence to bring about change  


• Motivation audit - Getting an overview of key motivational factors  

N Naming the process 

• Bringing hidden agendas out into the open  


• Negotiating expectations Being clear about what we can expect from each other  


• Not tolerating vagueness Avoiding the dangers of being too vague  

O Objectives tree  

• A framework for helping to develop plans  

P Paint the toilets  

• Making a fresh start 


• The paradoxical approach - Reducing behaviours by encouraging them  


• PCS analysis - Understanding different levels of discrimination  


• Peacemaking circles –Drawing on Native American wisdom  


• PEARLS - Building relationships  


• Positive strokes Building confidence  


• Principled negotiation - Constructive ways of reaching agreement  


• Promoting realism - Getting a balance between optimism and pessimism  


• Providing an anchor - Providing security in times of instability  


• Pushing the buttons - Acting as an advocate 

R Radical non-intervention 

• Allowing situations to resolve themselves  


• RAID - Reducing problematic behaviours  


• REBT - Understanding anger  


• Recognising grief - Appreciating the significance of loss and grief  


• The RED approach - Managing conflict  


• Reframing - Redefining problem situations to allow people to move forward  


• Releasing the scapegoat - Avoiding the destructiveness of blame  


• Responding to feelings - Taking account of the emotional dimension  


• Revisiting assumptions - Questioning the premises 


• The right person for the job - Matching skills and aptitudes to tasks  


• Risk assessment - Analysing the risks involved in a given situation  


• Role reversal - Seeing the situation from someone else’s point of view  

S SARAH   

• Coping with emotional intensity  


• Serendipity - Making the most of chance occurrences  


• The six thinking hats - Looking at the different angles  


• SMART objectives - The importance of having clear goals  


• SOLER - Managing interpersonal relations  


• Start – Stop – Continue - Optimising a situation  


• Stop trying! Taking a break from our efforts can sometimes be helpful  


• Storytelling - Using stories to gain fresh insight  


• Stress audit Getting an overview of pressures, coping methods and support  


• SWOT analysis - Balancing positives and negatives as an aid to decision making  

T Think–feel–do  

• Taking account of the three dimensions of human experience  


• The three Hs - Understanding what motivates people’s behaviour  


• The three Rs - Drawing on strengths  


• TOTE - Testing out the changes we make  


• Transactional analysis - Understanding interpersonal dynamics  


• Tuning in - Making connections with the people we are trying to help  


• Typology of objectives - Prioritising what you are trying to achieve  

U Using an accountability partner  

• The importance of supportive reminders  


• Using dissonance - Challenging ingrained views  


• Using personal constructs - Developing our own theories  

V Visioning  

• Developing a vision of the place we want to get to  

W Working backwards  

• Keeping a clear focus on outcomes  


• Worst case, best case  

Getting things in perspective  

Guide to further learning  

References