How to be a successful problem solver?

Problem-solving is different from completing a task or project. It’s dealing with a situation where something is not working as expected – whether the product doesn’t do what it should, someone critical goes missing last minute, or culture is at breaking point – and finding a way to ‘fix’ things. It’s – also – scanning for recurring issues and improving the system. Problem solving is contextually dependent, and generally difficult to plan for. It’s troubleshooting and continuous improvement. It’s valuable, but hard to recognise.

This highly reflective and interactive workshop will invite you to get into the black-box of problem-solving, and explore what it takes to be a successful problem-solver. How do you figure out where the actual problem(s) are? How do you even start disentangling them? How do you get the right information, context and leverage to quickly troubleshoot, or gain traction on improvement efforts? How do you make it work with people and systems as they are? How do you know whether you’re solving a problem, or simply shifting it? And could you make a career as a problem-solver?

You’ll be going through a facilitated bottom-up process to share your experience, articulate insights, and develop your own models, tools and strategies.

Key take-aways

· Practical mental models to classify problems and how to approach to them

· A rich, realistic view of problem solving, over the short and long-term

· Better understanding of the competencies involved in problem solving

· Self-awareness – what is your default approach to problem solving?

· Next steps on becoming a more successful problem solver yourself.

About the presenter

Dr. Julien Leyre is a French-Australian writer, editor, facilitator, systems entrepreneur and in-house problem solver. His career spans across a broad range of atypical roles and industry sectors, in Australia and around the world. He’s the co-founder of Shapeshifters Group, an organisation giving voice and visibility to problem-solvers of all kind – the people who look after the ‘liminal’ work that falls between the cracks, and make things work in organisations, communities and ecosystems.

https://shapeshifters.group // https://julienleyre.com