You and your team are working on a project and, suddenly a problem (or two or three) develop and threaten to derail your progress. Dealing with obstacles and challenges is a regular part of working life and overcoming them isn’t always easy. People tend to do three things when faced with a problem: 1) they get afraid or uncomfortable and wish it would go away; 2) they feel that they have to come up with an immediate answer and it has to be the ‘right’ answer; and 3) they look for someone to blame. Most of us are ‘conflict-adverse’. It makes us feel uncomfortable and dealing with that discomfort is a huge challenge. That’s why building a culture of creative problem solving in the workplace is so vital.

So, what exactly does creative problem solving mean? Creative problem solving or CPS is a method for approaching a problem or a challenge in an imaginative and innovative way, aka thinking “outside of the box”. It helps you redefine the problems and opportunities you face, come up with new, fresh solutions and then take action. If you do an Internet search on the term, you’ll find many variations, most of which can be traced back to the work started by Alex Osborn in the 1940s and further developed at Buffalo State College and the Creative Education Foundation. CPS is based on a few core principles:

• Everyone is creative.
• Creative skills can be learned and enhanced.

CPS is an essential soft skill that can help leaders and team members find new solutions to old problems and thrive in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment. Making creative problem solving a priority has a wealth of benefits for organizations:

• It encourages innovation
• It improves productivity
• It allows for adaptability
• It fosters growth

And here’s a really big one: It leads to better job satisfaction. When people are encouraged to be creative, they’re also more engaged. They’re not just solving problems in the stale, same old way, but are brainstorming and coming up with new, fresh ideas to approach challenges. This encourages retention and more joy in the workplace. And who doesn’t want that in today’s competitive hiring environment?

How many of us have had training in problem solving? We know it’s an important part of our role, but do we actually know how to do it effectively? That’s where working with a coach, like Leah M Joppy and Associates, can help. We can walk you through the CPS process, work with your leaders and team on how to approach problem solving in a fresh way and support you through any challenges during the entire process. Call us at 301-670-0051 or email us at leah@lmja.com to learn more.