There are many qualities that a Manager in today’s competitive environment must have. But the most important quality of Leadership that he / she must possess is problem solving ability. The leader must never practice “shoot the messenger of bad news”. Unfortunately many do. For a true leader anyone who brings a problem should be a ‘welcome guest’.
Problems abound in any organization. These may be small one or big ones. Simple to solve with a little attention or gigantic which may scare anyone. The biggest difficulty happens to be the wish to put the problem under the carpet so that it is not visible. This emerges out of fear – that I may be blamed. But like any other evil, the small problems may sooner or later become massive in size. At that time solutions become critical. Maybe for the very existence.
So the manager must identify precisely the nature of the problem and define it as clearly as possible. Remain calm. Maintain poise. And take all the necessary action to solve it. What are the qualities necessary for honing this essential skill? Not one, but many! These are listed below:
- A near perfect Management Information System: Near perfect because perfection is never achieved. Only nature is perfect.
- A passionate belief in the purpose. Unless you do your best in solving problems with a strong passion you cannot master this unique but essential skill.
- Solving a problem is a process which requires patient application of mind. You enjoy applying mind and people around you will also do the same. If excellence is your goal, there could be no easier method to follow it.
- Dogged persistence: Persistence is the core quality that you must develop. You must understand that if any problem has to be solved, you need to pursue the action towards resolving the same with nothing less than a dogged persistence. Never ever give up!
- Openness to learn: One must be open towards learning throughout one’s life. In fact, no one ever knows enough. There is always a lot to learn from your own experience and that of others, from books or from any other source.
- Look at your problem from different angles. Just as a photographer tries to portray the object from different angles, bringing out the life in the subject; likewise when you view the problem from different angles you will be able to chart out alternative solutions.
- The next step is to identify the most suitable solution to the problem.
A Manager can perfect the essential skill of problem solving by developing the above qualities with day to day practice.
