A520.3.3.RB - Constraints on Creative Problem Solving

A520.3.3.RB – Constraints on Creative Problem Solving

I think the first thing we need to get rid of to not stifle creative problem solving is the hierarchical approach to leadership.  What I mean by this is the fear of saying something that may be construed as against the boss.  We have to not limit the potential of those who are in the lower levels of the organization.  When we shut down those who are not in the management or leadership positions we are cutting out valuable insight into how we can make the organization better and solve our problems.  In Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty it is stated that 60% of all solutions to problems come from the lower levels of the organization (Obolensky, 2014).   The text describes this as noninquisitiveness.  This is summed up as the inability to solve problems because of fear of asking questions (Whetton & Cameron, 2016).  I believe this is especially true when dealing with a supervisor or your boss.  Another constraint you may face is thinking outside the box.  Many times when facing a problem you tend to focus on the issue and then one and only one way to solve this problem.  This is referred to as bias against thinking.  This mental block is a hindrance to problem solving when you tend to avoid doing any mental work or thinking.  Another constraint toward problem solving is functional fixedness (Barriers, 2016).  This is when a person attempts to solve a problem with a narrow minded mentality.  Functional fixedness is when you get the “you can’t do that” attitude toward solving the issue.  This approach will stifle creative thinking and limit your problem solving attempts.  Irrelevant information is another block to problem solving.  This is a major problem I face in the office I work in now.  This is when you are focusing on solving a problem and cannot stay on point.  It happens when you begin to discuss or research information that is not related to the problem at hand.  This happens in brainstorming sessions and when working in groups and people begin to have sidebars and other conversations and the next thing you know everyone is off topic and not working toward solving the issue.

One constraint I have placed on myself which has limited my problem solving is nonnquisitiveness.  I think however, comes from being in the military and being taught that as long as it is not illegal you do not question your supervisor or boss.  While the Air Force has made considerable progress in this area to help increase innovation this is still an area I struggle with.  A good example of this is when dealing with a recent supervisor and report writing.  My office uses a new database for storing data and producing reports based on the inspections we conduct.  This program however, is utilized by all offices across the Air Force who do this job.  Once all the data is entered into the system the report is automatically produced.  No matter what I would do the reports that were generated were not good enough for this particular supervisor.  Even though the program generated these reports and it was standardized across the Air Force he would make changes to the way the report was formatted.  Even though all other bases within our command were doing them the same way every one of the reports we would submit would be in different formats.  This to me was a problem and instead of asking him why he felt the need to change every report and to change them in different ways I just continued to send them to him and he made all his changes and then we published them. 

Another constraint I face pretty much on a daily basis is dealing with irrelevant information.  I work in an office with 8 people and no matter what we are trying to do we always get sidetracked and end up talking about other things.  We will sit down at our conference table and begin to look at a process we have and within five minute we will be talking about our kids or the score to a game we all watched or politics you name it and we will probably be talking about it.  The one thing I can tell you is we will not be focused on the problem or issue we were working anymore.  

Now I do not want to make it seem like I am completely ineffective at solving problems.  These are a few examples of times when the constraints to problem solving have crept in and hindered my effectiveness.  From time to time I think that all people face these constraints however.  If this was not true there would not be any problems anymore.  If one finds themselves facing these constraints there are some ways they can look to get passed them.  Some of these ways include making the strange familiar and the familiar strange, elaborate the definition, reverse the definition, defer judgment and several others.  All one has to do is recognize they are facing a constraint and then utilize one of these methods to bypass the constraint and get re-focused and back on track to solving their problems.

 

Barriers to Problem Solving. (2016). Free Management Books.  Retrieved from:

            http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/news/barriers-to-problem-solving/

Obolensky, N. (2014). Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty.

           Grower Publishing. New York, NY.

Whetton, D. A. & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills,

        9th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.