How to improve your problem solving skills and build effective problem solving strategies

problem solving facilitation techniques

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Effective problem solving is all about using the right process and following a plan tailored to the issue at hand. Recognizing your team or organization has an issue isn’t enough to come up with effective problem solving strategies. 

To truly understand a problem and develop appropriate solutions, you will want to follow a solid process, follow the necessary problem solving steps, and bring all of your problem solving skills to the table.  

We’ll first guide you through the seven step problem solving process you and your team can use to effectively solve complex business challenges. We’ll also look at what problem solving strategies you can employ with your team when looking for a way to approach the process. We’ll then discuss the problem solving skills you need to be more effective at solving problems, complete with an activity from the SessionLab library you can use to develop that skill in your team.

Let’s get to it! 

What is a problem solving process?

  • What are the problem solving steps I need to follow?

Problem solving strategies

What skills do i need to be an effective problem solver, how can i improve my problem solving skills.

Solving problems is like baking a cake. You can go straight into the kitchen without a recipe or the right ingredients and do your best, but the end result is unlikely to be very tasty!

Using a process to bake a cake allows you to use the best ingredients without waste, collect the right tools, account for allergies, decide whether it is a birthday or wedding cake, and then bake efficiently and on time. The result is a better cake that is fit for purpose, tastes better and has created less mess in the kitchen. Also, it should have chocolate sprinkles. Having a step by step process to solve organizational problems allows you to go through each stage methodically and ensure you are trying to solve the right problems and select the most appropriate, effective solutions.

What are the problem solving steps I need to follow? 

All problem solving processes go through a number of steps in order to move from identifying a problem to resolving it.

Depending on your problem solving model and who you ask, there can be anything between four and nine problem solving steps you should follow in order to find the right solution. Whatever framework you and your group use, there are some key items that should be addressed in order to have an effective process.

We’ve looked at problem solving processes from sources such as the American Society for Quality and their four step approach , and Mediate ‘s six step process. By reflecting on those and our own problem solving processes, we’ve come up with a sequence of seven problem solving steps we feel best covers everything you need in order to effectively solve problems.

seven step problem solving process

1. Problem identification 

The first stage of any problem solving process is to identify the problem or problems you might want to solve. Effective problem solving strategies always begin by allowing a group scope to articulate what they believe the problem to be and then coming to some consensus over which problem they approach first. Problem solving activities used at this stage often have a focus on creating frank, open discussion so that potential problems can be brought to the surface.

2. Problem analysis 

Though this step is not a million miles from problem identification, problem analysis deserves to be considered separately. It can often be an overlooked part of the process and is instrumental when it comes to developing effective solutions.

The process of problem analysis means ensuring that the problem you are seeking to solve is the right problem . As part of this stage, you may look deeper and try to find the root cause of a specific problem at a team or organizational level.

Remember that problem solving strategies should not only be focused on putting out fires in the short term but developing long term solutions that deal with the root cause of organizational challenges. 

Whatever your approach, analyzing a problem is crucial in being able to select an appropriate solution and the problem solving skills deployed in this stage are beneficial for the rest of the process and ensuring the solutions you create are fit for purpose.

3. Solution generation

Once your group has nailed down the particulars of the problem you wish to solve, you want to encourage a free flow of ideas connecting to solving that problem. This can take the form of problem solving games that encourage creative thinking or problem solving activities designed to produce working prototypes of possible solutions. 

The key to ensuring the success of this stage of the problem solving process is to encourage quick, creative thinking and create an open space where all ideas are considered. The best solutions can come from unlikely places and by using problem solving techniques that celebrate invention, you might come up with solution gold. 

4. Solution development

No solution is likely to be perfect right out of the gate. It’s important to discuss and develop the solutions your group has come up with over the course of following the previous problem solving steps in order to arrive at the best possible solution. Problem solving games used in this stage involve lots of critical thinking, measuring potential effort and impact, and looking at possible solutions analytically. 

During this stage, you will often ask your team to iterate and improve upon your frontrunning solutions and develop them further. Remember that problem solving strategies always benefit from a multitude of voices and opinions, and not to let ego get involved when it comes to choosing which solutions to develop and take further.

Finding the best solution is the goal of all problem solving workshops and here is the place to ensure that your solution is well thought out, sufficiently robust and fit for purpose. 

5. Decision making 

Nearly there! Once your group has reached consensus and selected a solution that applies to the problem at hand you have some decisions to make. You will want to work on allocating ownership of the project, figure out who will do what, how the success of the solution will be measured and decide the next course of action.

The decision making stage is a part of the problem solving process that can get missed or taken as for granted. Fail to properly allocate roles and plan out how a solution will actually be implemented and it less likely to be successful in solving the problem.

Have clear accountabilities, actions, timeframes, and follow-ups. Make these decisions and set clear next-steps in the problem solving workshop so that everyone is aligned and you can move forward effectively as a group. 

Ensuring that you plan for the roll-out of a solution is one of the most important problem solving steps. Without adequate planning or oversight, it can prove impossible to measure success or iterate further if the problem was not solved. 

6. Solution implementation 

This is what we were waiting for! All problem solving strategies have the end goal of implementing a solution and solving a problem in mind. 

Remember that in order for any solution to be successful, you need to help your group through all of the previous problem solving steps thoughtfully. Only then can you ensure that you are solving the right problem but also that you have developed the correct solution and can then successfully implement and measure the impact of that solution.

Project management and communication skills are key here – your solution may need to adjust when out in the wild or you might discover new challenges along the way.

7. Solution evaluation 

So you and your team developed a great solution to a problem and have a gut feeling its been solved. Work done, right? Wrong. All problem solving strategies benefit from evaluation, consideration, and feedback. You might find that the solution does not work for everyone, might create new problems, or is potentially so successful that you will want to roll it out to larger teams or as part of other initiatives. 

None of that is possible without taking the time to evaluate the success of the solution you developed in your problem solving model and adjust if necessary.

Remember that the problem solving process is often iterative and it can be common to not solve complex issues on the first try. Even when this is the case, you and your team will have generated learning that will be important for future problem solving workshops or in other parts of the organization. 

It’s worth underlining how important record keeping is throughout the problem solving process. If a solution didn’t work, you need to have the data and records to see why that was the case. If you go back to the drawing board, notes from the previous workshop can help save time. Data and insight is invaluable at every stage of the problem solving process and this one is no different.

Problem solving workshops made easy

problem solving facilitation techniques

Problem solving strategies are methods of approaching and facilitating the process of problem-solving with a set of techniques , actions, and processes. Different strategies are more effective if you are trying to solve broad problems such as achieving higher growth versus more focused problems like, how do we improve our customer onboarding process?

Broadly, the problem solving steps outlined above should be included in any problem solving strategy though choosing where to focus your time and what approaches should be taken is where they begin to differ. You might find that some strategies ask for the problem identification to be done prior to the session or that everything happens in the course of a one day workshop.

The key similarity is that all good problem solving strategies are structured and designed. Four hours of open discussion is never going to be as productive as a four-hour workshop designed to lead a group through a problem solving process.

Good problem solving strategies are tailored to the team, organization and problem you will be attempting to solve. Here are some example problem solving strategies you can learn from or use to get started.

Use a workshop to lead a team through a group process

Often, the first step to solving problems or organizational challenges is bringing a group together effectively. Most teams have the tools, knowledge, and expertise necessary to solve their challenges – they just need some guidance in how to use leverage those skills and a structure and format that allows people to focus their energies.

Facilitated workshops are one of the most effective ways of solving problems of any scale. By designing and planning your workshop carefully, you can tailor the approach and scope to best fit the needs of your team and organization. 

Problem solving workshop

  • Creating a bespoke, tailored process
  • Tackling problems of any size
  • Building in-house workshop ability and encouraging their use

Workshops are an effective strategy for solving problems. By using tried and test facilitation techniques and methods, you can design and deliver a workshop that is perfectly suited to the unique variables of your organization. You may only have the capacity for a half-day workshop and so need a problem solving process to match. 

By using our session planner tool and importing methods from our library of 700+ facilitation techniques, you can create the right problem solving workshop for your team. It might be that you want to encourage creative thinking or look at things from a new angle to unblock your groups approach to problem solving. By tailoring your workshop design to the purpose, you can help ensure great results.

One of the main benefits of a workshop is the structured approach to problem solving. Not only does this mean that the workshop itself will be successful, but many of the methods and techniques will help your team improve their working processes outside of the workshop. 

We believe that workshops are one of the best tools you can use to improve the way your team works together. Start with a problem solving workshop and then see what team building, culture or design workshops can do for your organization!

Run a design sprint

Great for: 

  • aligning large, multi-discipline teams
  • quickly designing and testing solutions
  • tackling large, complex organizational challenges and breaking them down into smaller tasks

By using design thinking principles and methods, a design sprint is a great way of identifying, prioritizing and prototyping solutions to long term challenges that can help solve major organizational problems with quick action and measurable results.

Some familiarity with design thinking is useful, though not integral, and this strategy can really help a team align if there is some discussion around which problems should be approached first. 

The stage-based structure of the design sprint is also very useful for teams new to design thinking.  The inspiration phase, where you look to competitors that have solved your problem, and the rapid prototyping and testing phases are great for introducing new concepts that will benefit a team in all their future work. 

It can be common for teams to look inward for solutions and so looking to the market for solutions you can iterate on can be very productive. Instilling an agile prototyping and testing mindset can also be great when helping teams move forwards – generating and testing solutions quickly can help save time in the long run and is also pretty exciting!

Break problems down into smaller issues

Organizational challenges and problems are often complicated and large scale in nature. Sometimes, trying to resolve such an issue in one swoop is simply unachievable or overwhelming. Try breaking down such problems into smaller issues that you can work on step by step. You may not be able to solve the problem of churning customers off the bat, but you can work with your team to identify smaller effort but high impact elements and work on those first.

This problem solving strategy can help a team generate momentum, prioritize and get some easy wins. It’s also a great strategy to employ with teams who are just beginning to learn how to approach the problem solving process. If you want some insight into a way to employ this strategy, we recommend looking at our design sprint template below!

Use guiding frameworks or try new methodologies

Some problems are best solved by introducing a major shift in perspective or by using new methodologies that encourage your team to think differently.

Props and tools such as Methodkit , which uses a card-based toolkit for facilitation, or Lego Serious Play can be great ways to engage your team and find an inclusive, democratic problem solving strategy. Remember that play and creativity are great tools for achieving change and whatever the challenge, engaging your participants can be very effective where other strategies may have failed.

LEGO Serious Play

  • Improving core problem solving skills
  • Thinking outside of the box
  • Encouraging creative solutions

LEGO Serious Play is a problem solving methodology designed to get participants thinking differently by using 3D models and kinesthetic learning styles. By physically building LEGO models based on questions and exercises, participants are encouraged to think outside of the box and create their own responses. 

Collaborate LEGO Serious Play exercises are also used to encourage communication and build problem solving skills in a group. By using this problem solving process, you can often help different kinds of learners and personality types contribute and unblock organizational problems with creative thinking. 

Problem solving strategies like LEGO Serious Play are super effective at helping a team solve more skills-based problems such as communication between teams or a lack of creative thinking. Some problems are not suited to LEGO Serious Play and require a different problem solving strategy.

Card Decks and Method Kits

  • New facilitators or non-facilitators 
  • Approaching difficult subjects with a simple, creative framework
  • Engaging those with varied learning styles

Card decks and method kids are great tools for those new to facilitation or for whom facilitation is not the primary role. Card decks such as the emotional culture deck can be used for complete workshops and in many cases, can be used right out of the box. Methodkit has a variety of kits designed for scenarios ranging from personal development through to personas and global challenges so you can find the right deck for your particular needs.

Having an easy to use framework that encourages creativity or a new approach can take some of the friction or planning difficulties out of the workshop process and energize a team in any setting. Simplicity is the key with these methods. By ensuring everyone on your team can get involved and engage with the process as quickly as possible can really contribute to the success of your problem solving strategy.

Source external advice

Looking to peers, experts and external facilitators can be a great way of approaching the problem solving process. Your team may not have the necessary expertise, insights of experience to tackle some issues, or you might simply benefit from a fresh perspective. Some problems may require bringing together an entire team, and coaching managers or team members individually might be the right approach. Remember that not all problems are best resolved in the same manner.

If you’re a solo entrepreneur, peer groups, coaches and mentors can also be invaluable at not only solving specific business problems, but in providing a support network for resolving future challenges. One great approach is to join a Mastermind Group and link up with like-minded individuals and all grow together. Remember that however you approach the sourcing of external advice, do so thoughtfully, respectfully and honestly. Reciprocate where you can and prepare to be surprised by just how kind and helpful your peers can be!

Mastermind Group

  • Solo entrepreneurs or small teams with low capacity
  • Peer learning and gaining outside expertise
  • Getting multiple external points of view quickly

Problem solving in large organizations with lots of skilled team members is one thing, but how about if you work for yourself or in a very small team without the capacity to get the most from a design sprint or LEGO Serious Play session? 

A mastermind group – sometimes known as a peer advisory board – is where a group of people come together to support one another in their own goals, challenges, and businesses. Each participant comes to the group with their own purpose and the other members of the group will help them create solutions, brainstorm ideas, and support one another. 

Mastermind groups are very effective in creating an energized, supportive atmosphere that can deliver meaningful results. Learning from peers from outside of your organization or industry can really help unlock new ways of thinking and drive growth. Access to the experience and skills of your peers can be invaluable in helping fill the gaps in your own ability, particularly in young companies.

A mastermind group is a great solution for solo entrepreneurs, small teams, or for organizations that feel that external expertise or fresh perspectives will be beneficial for them. It is worth noting that Mastermind groups are often only as good as the participants and what they can bring to the group. Participants need to be committed, engaged and understand how to work in this context. 

Coaching and mentoring

  • Focused learning and development
  • Filling skills gaps
  • Working on a range of challenges over time

Receiving advice from a business coach or building a mentor/mentee relationship can be an effective way of resolving certain challenges. The one-to-one format of most coaching and mentor relationships can really help solve the challenges those individuals are having and benefit the organization as a result.

A great mentor can be invaluable when it comes to spotting potential problems before they arise and coming to understand a mentee very well has a host of other business benefits. You might run an internal mentorship program to help develop your team’s problem solving skills and strategies or as part of a large learning and development program. External coaches can also be an important part of your problem solving strategy, filling skills gaps for your management team or helping with specific business issues. 

Now we’ve explored the problem solving process and the steps you will want to go through in order to have an effective session, let’s look at the skills you and your team need to be more effective problem solvers.

Problem solving skills are highly sought after, whatever industry or team you work in. Organizations are keen to employ people who are able to approach problems thoughtfully and find strong, realistic solutions. Whether you are a facilitator , a team leader or a developer, being an effective problem solver is a skill you’ll want to develop.

Problem solving skills form a whole suite of techniques and approaches that an individual uses to not only identify problems but to discuss them productively before then developing appropriate solutions.

Here are some of the most important problem solving skills everyone from executives to junior staff members should learn. We’ve also included an activity or exercise from the SessionLab library that can help you and your team develop that skill. 

If you’re running a workshop or training session to try and improve problem solving skills in your team, try using these methods to supercharge your process!

Problem solving skills checklist

Active listening

Active listening is one of the most important skills anyone who works with people can possess. In short, active listening is a technique used to not only better understand what is being said by an individual, but also to be more aware of the underlying message the speaker is trying to convey. When it comes to problem solving, active listening is integral for understanding the position of every participant and to clarify the challenges, ideas and solutions they bring to the table.

Some active listening skills include:

  • Paying complete attention to the speaker.
  • Removing distractions.
  • Avoid interruption.
  • Taking the time to fully understand before preparing a rebuttal.
  • Responding respectfully and appropriately.
  • Demonstrate attentiveness and positivity with an open posture, making eye contact with the speaker, smiling and nodding if appropriate. Show that you are listening and encourage them to continue.
  • Be aware of and respectful of feelings. Judge the situation and respond appropriately. You can disagree without being disrespectful.   
  • Observe body language. 
  • Paraphrase what was said in your own words, either mentally or verbally.
  • Remain neutral. 
  • Reflect and take a moment before responding.
  • Ask deeper questions based on what is said and clarify points where necessary.   
Active Listening   #hyperisland   #skills   #active listening   #remote-friendly   This activity supports participants to reflect on a question and generate their own solutions using simple principles of active listening and peer coaching. It’s an excellent introduction to active listening but can also be used with groups that are already familiar with it. Participants work in groups of three and take turns being: “the subject”, the listener, and the observer.

Analytical skills

All problem solving models require strong analytical skills, particularly during the beginning of the process and when it comes to analyzing how solutions have performed.

Analytical skills are primarily focused on performing an effective analysis by collecting, studying and parsing data related to a problem or opportunity. 

It often involves spotting patterns, being able to see things from different perspectives and using observable facts and data to make suggestions or produce insight. 

Analytical skills are also important at every stage of the problem solving process and by having these skills, you can ensure that any ideas or solutions you create or backed up analytically and have been sufficiently thought out.

Nine Whys   #innovation   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   With breathtaking simplicity, you can rapidly clarify for individuals and a group what is essentially important in their work. You can quickly reveal when a compelling purpose is missing in a gathering and avoid moving forward without clarity. When a group discovers an unambiguous shared purpose, more freedom and more responsibility are unleashed. You have laid the foundation for spreading and scaling innovations with fidelity.

Collaboration

Trying to solve problems on your own is difficult. Being able to collaborate effectively, with a free exchange of ideas, to delegate and be a productive member of a team is hugely important to all problem solving strategies.

Remember that whatever your role, collaboration is integral, and in a problem solving process, you are all working together to find the best solution for everyone. 

Marshmallow challenge with debriefing   #teamwork   #team   #leadership   #collaboration   In eighteen minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be on top. The Marshmallow Challenge was developed by Tom Wujec, who has done the activity with hundreds of groups around the world. Visit the Marshmallow Challenge website for more information. This version has an extra debriefing question added with sample questions focusing on roles within the team.

Communication  

Being an effective communicator means being empathetic, clear and succinct, asking the right questions, and demonstrating active listening skills throughout any discussion or meeting. 

In a problem solving setting, you need to communicate well in order to progress through each stage of the process effectively. As a team leader, it may also fall to you to facilitate communication between parties who may not see eye to eye. Effective communication also means helping others to express themselves and be heard in a group.

Bus Trip   #feedback   #communication   #appreciation   #closing   #thiagi   #team   This is one of my favourite feedback games. I use Bus Trip at the end of a training session or a meeting, and I use it all the time. The game creates a massive amount of energy with lots of smiles, laughs, and sometimes even a teardrop or two.

Creative problem solving skills can be some of the best tools in your arsenal. Thinking creatively, being able to generate lots of ideas and come up with out of the box solutions is useful at every step of the process. 

The kinds of problems you will likely discuss in a problem solving workshop are often difficult to solve, and by approaching things in a fresh, creative manner, you can often create more innovative solutions.

Having practical creative skills is also a boon when it comes to problem solving. If you can help create quality design sketches and prototypes in record time, it can help bring a team to alignment more quickly or provide a base for further iteration.

The paper clip method   #sharing   #creativity   #warm up   #idea generation   #brainstorming   The power of brainstorming. A training for project leaders, creativity training, and to catalyse getting new solutions.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is one of the fundamental problem solving skills you’ll want to develop when working on developing solutions. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze, rationalize and evaluate while being aware of personal bias, outlying factors and remaining open-minded.

Defining and analyzing problems without deploying critical thinking skills can mean you and your team go down the wrong path. Developing solutions to complex issues requires critical thinking too – ensuring your team considers all possibilities and rationally evaluating them. 

Agreement-Certainty Matrix   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   #problem solving   You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex , and chaotic .  A problem is simple when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate.  It is complicated when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired results predictably.  A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed but outcomes are not predictable in detail.  Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to identify a path forward.  A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences: simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.”  The Liberating Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.

Data analysis 

Though it shares lots of space with general analytical skills, data analysis skills are something you want to cultivate in their own right in order to be an effective problem solver.

Being good at data analysis doesn’t just mean being able to find insights from data, but also selecting the appropriate data for a given issue, interpreting it effectively and knowing how to model and present that data. Depending on the problem at hand, it might also include a working knowledge of specific data analysis tools and procedures. 

Having a solid grasp of data analysis techniques is useful if you’re leading a problem solving workshop but if you’re not an expert, don’t worry. Bring people into the group who has this skill set and help your team be more effective as a result.

Decision making

All problems need a solution and all solutions require that someone make the decision to implement them. Without strong decision making skills, teams can become bogged down in discussion and less effective as a result. 

Making decisions is a key part of the problem solving process. It’s important to remember that decision making is not restricted to the leadership team. Every staff member makes decisions every day and developing these skills ensures that your team is able to solve problems at any scale. Remember that making decisions does not mean leaping to the first solution but weighing up the options and coming to an informed, well thought out solution to any given problem that works for the whole team.

Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ)   #action   #decision making   #problem solving   #issue analysis   #innovation   #design   #remote-friendly   The problem with anything that requires creative thinking is that it’s easy to get lost—lose focus and fall into the trap of having useless, open-ended, unstructured discussions. Here’s the most effective solution I’ve found: Replace all open, unstructured discussion with a clear process. What to use this exercise for: Anything which requires a group of people to make decisions, solve problems or discuss challenges. It’s always good to frame an LDJ session with a broad topic, here are some examples: The conversion flow of our checkout Our internal design process How we organise events Keeping up with our competition Improving sales flow

Dependability

Most complex organizational problems require multiple people to be involved in delivering the solution. Ensuring that the team and organization can depend on you to take the necessary actions and communicate where necessary is key to ensuring problems are solved effectively.

Being dependable also means working to deadlines and to brief. It is often a matter of creating trust in a team so that everyone can depend on one another to complete the agreed actions in the agreed time frame so that the team can move forward together. Being undependable can create problems of friction and can limit the effectiveness of your solutions so be sure to bear this in mind throughout a project. 

Team Purpose & Culture   #team   #hyperisland   #culture   #remote-friendly   This is an essential process designed to help teams define their purpose (why they exist) and their culture (how they work together to achieve that purpose). Defining these two things will help any team to be more focused and aligned. With support of tangible examples from other companies, the team members work as individuals and a group to codify the way they work together. The goal is a visual manifestation of both the purpose and culture that can be put up in the team’s work space.

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is an important skill for any successful team member, whether communicating internally or with clients or users. In the problem solving process, emotional intelligence means being attuned to how people are feeling and thinking, communicating effectively and being self-aware of what you bring to a room. 

There are often differences of opinion when working through problem solving processes, and it can be easy to let things become impassioned or combative. Developing your emotional intelligence means being empathetic to your colleagues and managing your own emotions throughout the problem and solution process. Be kind, be thoughtful and put your points across care and attention. 

Being emotionally intelligent is a skill for life and by deploying it at work, you can not only work efficiently but empathetically. Check out the emotional culture workshop template for more!

Facilitation

As we’ve clarified in our facilitation skills post, facilitation is the art of leading people through processes towards agreed-upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership, and creativity by all those involved. While facilitation is a set of interrelated skills in itself, the broad definition of facilitation can be invaluable when it comes to problem solving. Leading a team through a problem solving process is made more effective if you improve and utilize facilitation skills – whether you’re a manager, team leader or external stakeholder.

The Six Thinking Hats   #creative thinking   #meeting facilitation   #problem solving   #issue resolution   #idea generation   #conflict resolution   The Six Thinking Hats are used by individuals and groups to separate out conflicting styles of thinking. They enable and encourage a group of people to think constructively together in exploring and implementing change, rather than using argument to fight over who is right and who is wrong.

Flexibility 

Being flexible is a vital skill when it comes to problem solving. This does not mean immediately bowing to pressure or changing your opinion quickly: instead, being flexible is all about seeing things from new perspectives, receiving new information and factoring it into your thought process.

Flexibility is also important when it comes to rolling out solutions. It might be that other organizational projects have greater priority or require the same resources as your chosen solution. Being flexible means understanding needs and challenges across the team and being open to shifting or arranging your own schedule as necessary. Again, this does not mean immediately making way for other projects. It’s about articulating your own needs, understanding the needs of others and being able to come to a meaningful compromise.

The Creativity Dice   #creativity   #problem solving   #thiagi   #issue analysis   Too much linear thinking is hazardous to creative problem solving. To be creative, you should approach the problem (or the opportunity) from different points of view. You should leave a thought hanging in mid-air and move to another. This skipping around prevents premature closure and lets your brain incubate one line of thought while you consciously pursue another.

Working in any group can lead to unconscious elements of groupthink or situations in which you may not wish to be entirely honest. Disagreeing with the opinions of the executive team or wishing to save the feelings of a coworker can be tricky to navigate, but being honest is absolutely vital when to comes to developing effective solutions and ensuring your voice is heard. 

Remember that being honest does not mean being brutally candid. You can deliver your honest feedback and opinions thoughtfully and without creating friction by using other skills such as emotional intelligence. 

Explore your Values   #hyperisland   #skills   #values   #remote-friendly   Your Values is an exercise for participants to explore what their most important values are. It’s done in an intuitive and rapid way to encourage participants to follow their intuitive feeling rather than over-thinking and finding the “correct” values. It is a good exercise to use to initiate reflection and dialogue around personal values.

Initiative 

The problem solving process is multi-faceted and requires different approaches at certain points of the process. Taking initiative to bring problems to the attention of the team, collect data or lead the solution creating process is always valuable. You might even roadtest your own small scale solutions or brainstorm before a session. Taking initiative is particularly effective if you have good deal of knowledge in that area or have ownership of a particular project and want to get things kickstarted.

That said, be sure to remember to honor the process and work in service of the team. If you are asked to own one part of the problem solving process and you don’t complete that task because your initiative leads you to work on something else, that’s not an effective method of solving business challenges.

15% Solutions   #action   #liberating structures   #remote-friendly   You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference.  15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change.  With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

Impartiality

A particularly useful problem solving skill for product owners or managers is the ability to remain impartial throughout much of the process. In practice, this means treating all points of view and ideas brought forward in a meeting equally and ensuring that your own areas of interest or ownership are not favored over others. 

There may be a stage in the process where a decision maker has to weigh the cost and ROI of possible solutions against the company roadmap though even then, ensuring that the decision made is based on merit and not personal opinion. 

Empathy map   #frame insights   #create   #design   #issue analysis   An empathy map is a tool to help a design team to empathize with the people they are designing for. You can make an empathy map for a group of people or for a persona. To be used after doing personas when more insights are needed.

Being a good leader means getting a team aligned, energized and focused around a common goal. In the problem solving process, strong leadership helps ensure that the process is efficient, that any conflicts are resolved and that a team is managed in the direction of success.

It’s common for managers or executives to assume this role in a problem solving workshop, though it’s important that the leader maintains impartiality and does not bulldoze the group in a particular direction. Remember that good leadership means working in service of the purpose and team and ensuring the workshop is a safe space for employees of any level to contribute. Take a look at our leadership games and activities post for more exercises and methods to help improve leadership in your organization.

Leadership Pizza   #leadership   #team   #remote-friendly   This leadership development activity offers a self-assessment framework for people to first identify what skills, attributes and attitudes they find important for effective leadership, and then assess their own development and initiate goal setting.

In the context of problem solving, mediation is important in keeping a team engaged, happy and free of conflict. When leading or facilitating a problem solving workshop, you are likely to run into differences of opinion. Depending on the nature of the problem, certain issues may be brought up that are emotive in nature. 

Being an effective mediator means helping those people on either side of such a divide are heard, listen to one another and encouraged to find common ground and a resolution. Mediating skills are useful for leaders and managers in many situations and the problem solving process is no different.

Conflict Responses   #hyperisland   #team   #issue resolution   A workshop for a team to reflect on past conflicts, and use them to generate guidelines for effective conflict handling. The workshop uses the Thomas-Killman model of conflict responses to frame a reflective discussion. Use it to open up a discussion around conflict with a team.

Planning 

Solving organizational problems is much more effective when following a process or problem solving model. Planning skills are vital in order to structure, deliver and follow-through on a problem solving workshop and ensure your solutions are intelligently deployed.

Planning skills include the ability to organize tasks and a team, plan and design the process and take into account any potential challenges. Taking the time to plan carefully can save time and frustration later in the process and is valuable for ensuring a team is positioned for success.

3 Action Steps   #hyperisland   #action   #remote-friendly   This is a small-scale strategic planning session that helps groups and individuals to take action toward a desired change. It is often used at the end of a workshop or programme. The group discusses and agrees on a vision, then creates some action steps that will lead them towards that vision. The scope of the challenge is also defined, through discussion of the helpful and harmful factors influencing the group.

Prioritization

As organisations grow, the scale and variation of problems they face multiplies. Your team or is likely to face numerous challenges in different areas and so having the skills to analyze and prioritize becomes very important, particularly for those in leadership roles.

A thorough problem solving process is likely to deliver multiple solutions and you may have several different problems you wish to solve simultaneously. Prioritization is the ability to measure the importance, value, and effectiveness of those possible solutions and choose which to enact and in what order. The process of prioritization is integral in ensuring the biggest challenges are addressed with the most impactful solutions.

Impact and Effort Matrix   #gamestorming   #decision making   #action   #remote-friendly   In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

Project management

Some problem solving skills are utilized in a workshop or ideation phases, while others come in useful when it comes to decision making. Overseeing an entire problem solving process and ensuring its success requires strong project management skills. 

While project management incorporates many of the other skills listed here, it is important to note the distinction of considering all of the factors of a project and managing them successfully. Being able to negotiate with stakeholders, manage tasks, time and people, consider costs and ROI, and tie everything together is massively helpful when going through the problem solving process. 

Record keeping

Working out meaningful solutions to organizational challenges is only one part of the process.  Thoughtfully documenting and keeping records of each problem solving step for future consultation is important in ensuring efficiency and meaningful change. 

For example, some problems may be lower priority than others but can be revisited in the future. If the team has ideated on solutions and found some are not up to the task, record those so you can rule them out and avoiding repeating work. Keeping records of the process also helps you improve and refine your problem solving model next time around!

Personal Kanban   #gamestorming   #action   #agile   #project planning   Personal Kanban is a tool for organizing your work to be more efficient and productive. It is based on agile methods and principles.

Research skills

Conducting research to support both the identification of problems and the development of appropriate solutions is important for an effective process. Knowing where to go to collect research, how to conduct research efficiently, and identifying pieces of research are relevant are all things a good researcher can do well. 

In larger groups, not everyone has to demonstrate this ability in order for a problem solving workshop to be effective. That said, having people with research skills involved in the process, particularly if they have existing area knowledge, can help ensure the solutions that are developed with data that supports their intention. Remember that being able to deliver the results of research efficiently and in a way the team can easily understand is also important. The best data in the world is only as effective as how it is delivered and interpreted.

Customer experience map   #ideation   #concepts   #research   #design   #issue analysis   #remote-friendly   Customer experience mapping is a method of documenting and visualizing the experience a customer has as they use the product or service. It also maps out their responses to their experiences. To be used when there is a solution (even in a conceptual stage) that can be analyzed.

Risk management

Managing risk is an often overlooked part of the problem solving process. Solutions are often developed with the intention of reducing exposure to risk or solving issues that create risk but sometimes, great solutions are more experimental in nature and as such, deploying them needs to be carefully considered. 

Managing risk means acknowledging that there may be risks associated with more out of the box solutions or trying new things, but that this must be measured against the possible benefits and other organizational factors. 

Be informed, get the right data and stakeholders in the room and you can appropriately factor risk into your decision making process. 

Decisions, Decisions…   #communication   #decision making   #thiagi   #action   #issue analysis   When it comes to decision-making, why are some of us more prone to take risks while others are risk-averse? One explanation might be the way the decision and options were presented.  This exercise, based on Kahneman and Tversky’s classic study , illustrates how the framing effect influences our judgement and our ability to make decisions . The participants are divided into two groups. Both groups are presented with the same problem and two alternative programs for solving them. The two programs both have the same consequences but are presented differently. The debriefing discussion examines how the framing of the program impacted the participant’s decision.

Team-building 

No single person is as good at problem solving as a team. Building an effective team and helping them come together around a common purpose is one of the most important problem solving skills, doubly so for leaders. By bringing a team together and helping them work efficiently, you pave the way for team ownership of a problem and the development of effective solutions. 

In a problem solving workshop, it can be tempting to jump right into the deep end, though taking the time to break the ice, energize the team and align them with a game or exercise will pay off over the course of the day.

Remember that you will likely go through the problem solving process multiple times over an organization’s lifespan and building a strong team culture will make future problem solving more effective. It’s also great to work with people you know, trust and have fun with. Working on team building in and out of the problem solving process is a hallmark of successful teams that can work together to solve business problems.

9 Dimensions Team Building Activity   #ice breaker   #teambuilding   #team   #remote-friendly   9 Dimensions is a powerful activity designed to build relationships and trust among team members. There are 2 variations of this icebreaker. The first version is for teams who want to get to know each other better. The second version is for teams who want to explore how they are working together as a team.

Time management 

The problem solving process is designed to lead a team from identifying a problem through to delivering a solution and evaluating its effectiveness. Without effective time management skills or timeboxing of tasks, it can be easy for a team to get bogged down or be inefficient.

By using a problem solving model and carefully designing your workshop, you can allocate time efficiently and trust that the process will deliver the results you need in a good timeframe.

Time management also comes into play when it comes to rolling out solutions, particularly those that are experimental in nature. Having a clear timeframe for implementing and evaluating solutions is vital for ensuring their success and being able to pivot if necessary.

Improving your skills at problem solving is often a career-long pursuit though there are methods you can use to make the learning process more efficient and to supercharge your problem solving skillset.

Remember that the skills you need to be a great problem solver have a large overlap with those skills you need to be effective in any role. Investing time and effort to develop your active listening or critical thinking skills is valuable in any context. Here are 7 ways to improve your problem solving skills.

Share best practices

Remember that your team is an excellent source of skills, wisdom, and techniques and that you should all take advantage of one another where possible. Best practices that one team has for solving problems, conducting research or making decisions should be shared across the organization. If you have in-house staff that have done active listening training or are data analysis pros, have them lead a training session. 

Your team is one of your best resources. Create space and internal processes for the sharing of skills so that you can all grow together. 

Ask for help and attend training

Once you’ve figured out you have a skills gap, the next step is to take action to fill that skills gap. That might be by asking your superior for training or coaching, or liaising with team members with that skill set. You might even attend specialized training for certain skills – active listening or critical thinking, for example, are business-critical skills that are regularly offered as part of a training scheme.

Whatever method you choose, remember that taking action of some description is necessary for growth. Whether that means practicing, getting help, attending training or doing some background reading, taking active steps to improve your skills is the way to go.

Learn a process 

Problem solving can be complicated, particularly when attempting to solve large problems for the first time. Using a problem solving process helps give structure to your problem solving efforts and focus on creating outcomes, rather than worrying about the format. 

Tools such as the seven-step problem solving process above are effective because not only do they feature steps that will help a team solve problems, they also develop skills along the way. Each step asks for people to engage with the process using different skills and in doing so, helps the team learn and grow together. Group processes of varying complexity and purpose can also be found in the SessionLab library of facilitation techniques . Using a tried and tested process and really help ease the learning curve for both those leading such a process, as well as those undergoing the purpose.

Effective teams make decisions about where they should and shouldn’t expend additional effort. By using a problem solving process, you can focus on the things that matter, rather than stumbling towards a solution haphazardly. 

Create a feedback loop

Some skills gaps are more obvious than others. It’s possible that your perception of your active listening skills differs from those of your colleagues. 

It’s valuable to create a system where team members can provide feedback in an ordered and friendly manner so they can all learn from one another. Only by identifying areas of improvement can you then work to improve them. 

Remember that feedback systems require oversight and consideration so that they don’t turn into a place to complain about colleagues. Design the system intelligently so that you encourage the creation of learning opportunities, rather than encouraging people to list their pet peeves.

While practice might not make perfect, it does make the problem solving process easier. If you are having trouble with critical thinking, don’t shy away from doing it. Get involved where you can and stretch those muscles as regularly as possible. 

Problem solving skills come more naturally to some than to others and that’s okay. Take opportunities to get involved and see where you can practice your skills in situations outside of a workshop context. Try collaborating in other circumstances at work or conduct data analysis on your own projects. You can often develop those skills you need for problem solving simply by doing them. Get involved!

Use expert exercises and methods

Learn from the best. Our library of 700+ facilitation techniques is full of activities and methods that help develop the skills you need to be an effective problem solver. Check out our templates to see how to approach problem solving and other organizational challenges in a structured and intelligent manner.

There is no single approach to improving problem solving skills, but by using the techniques employed by others you can learn from their example and develop processes that have seen proven results. 

Try new ways of thinking and change your mindset

Using tried and tested exercises that you know well can help deliver results, but you do run the risk of missing out on the learning opportunities offered by new approaches. As with the problem solving process, changing your mindset can remove blockages and be used to develop your problem solving skills.

Most teams have members with mixed skill sets and specialties. Mix people from different teams and share skills and different points of view. Teach your customer support team how to use design thinking methods or help your developers with conflict resolution techniques. Try switching perspectives with facilitation techniques like Flip It! or by using new problem solving methodologies or models. Give design thinking, liberating structures or lego serious play a try if you want to try a new approach. You will find that framing problems in new ways and using existing skills in new contexts can be hugely useful for personal development and improving your skillset. It’s also a lot of fun to try new things. Give it a go!

Encountering business challenges and needing to find appropriate solutions is not unique to your organization. Lots of very smart people have developed methods, theories and approaches to help develop problem solving skills and create effective solutions. Learn from them!

Books like The Art of Thinking Clearly , Think Smarter, or Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow are great places to start, though it’s also worth looking at blogs related to organizations facing similar problems to yours, or browsing for success stories. Seeing how Dropbox massively increased growth and working backward can help you see the skills or approach you might be lacking to solve that same problem. Learning from others by reading their stories or approaches can be time-consuming but ultimately rewarding.

A tired, distracted mind is not in the best position to learn new skills. It can be tempted to burn the candle at both ends and develop problem solving skills outside of work. Absolutely use your time effectively and take opportunities for self-improvement, though remember that rest is hugely important and that without letting your brain rest, you cannot be at your most effective. 

Creating distance between yourself and the problem you might be facing can also be useful. By letting an idea sit, you can find that a better one presents itself or you can develop it further. Take regular breaks when working and create a space for downtime. Remember that working smarter is preferable to working harder and that self-care is important for any effective learning or improvement process.

Want to design better group processes?

problem solving facilitation techniques

Over to you

Now we’ve explored some of the key problem solving skills and the problem solving steps necessary for an effective process, you’re ready to begin developing more effective solutions and leading problem solving workshops.

Need more inspiration? Check out our post on problem solving activities you can use when guiding a group towards a great solution in your next workshop or meeting. Have questions? Did you have a great problem solving technique you use with your team? Get in touch in the comments below. We’d love to chat!

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How to Facilitate Creative Problem Solving Workshops

Creative problem solving

Posted in Blog , Create , Facilitation , Innovation , Virtual Facilitation by Jo North

This article gives you a comprehensive guide to creative problem solving, what it is and a brief history. It also covers how creative problem solving works, with a step-by-step guide to show you how to solve challenging opportunities and problems in your own organization through fresh approaches, and how to facilitate a creative problem solving workshop.

Here are The Big Bang Partnership we are expert facilitators of creative problem solving workshops . Please do comment or email us if you would like any further tips or advice, or if you’d like to explore having us design and facilitate a workshop for you.

What is Creative Problem Solving?

Creative problem solving, sometimes abbreviated to CPS, is a step-by-step process designed to spark creative thinking and innovative solutions for purposeful change.

The creative problem solving process is at the root of other contemporary creativity and innovation processes, such as innovation sprints and design sprints or design thinking . These methods have adapted and repackaged the fundamental principles of creative problem solving.

Creative Problem Solving Definition

Here are definitions of each component of the term creative problem solving process:

  • Creative – Production of new and useful ideas or options.
  • Problem – A gap between what you have and what you want.
  • Solving – Taking action.
  • Process – Steps; a method of doing something.

Source: Creative Leadership: Skills that Drive Change Puccio, Murdock, Mance (2007)

The definition of creative problem solving (CPS) is that it’s a way of solving challenges or opportunities when the usual ways of thinking have not worked.

The creative problem solving process encourages people to find fresh perspectives and come up with novel solutions. This means that they can create a plan to overcome obstacles and reach their goals by combining problem solving and creative thinking skills in one process.

Using creative problem-solving removes the haphazard way in which most organizations approach challenges and increases the probability of a successful solution that all stakeholders support.

For an overview of the history of the creative problem solving process, have a read of my article here .

Creative Problems to Solve

Just a few examples of creative problems to solve using the creative problem solving process are:

  • Shaping a strategy for your organization
  • Developing or improving a new product or service
  • Creating a new marketing campaign
  • Bringing diverse stakeholders together to collaborate on a joint plan
  • Formulating work-winning solutions for new business proposals, bids or tenders
  • Working on a more sustainable business model
  • Finding eco-innovation solutions
  • Social or community innovation
  • Co-creation leading to co-production

Messy, Wicked and Tame Problems

If your problem or challenge is ‘ messy ’ or ‘ wicked ’, using the creative problem solving process is an excellent method for getting key stakeholders together to work on it collaboratively. The creative problem solving process will help you to make progress towards improving elements of your challenge.

Wicked, messy problems - illustration

Messy Problems

In the field of innovation, a messy problem is made up of clusters of interrelated or interdependent problems, or systems of problems. For example, the problems of unemployment in a community, the culture in a workplace or how to reach new markets are likely to be caused by multiple factors.

It’s important to deconstruct messy problems and solve each key problem area. The creative problem solving process provides a valuable method of doing so.

Wicked Problems

Design theorists Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber introduced the term “ wicked problem ” in 1973 to describe the complexities of resolving planning and social policy problems.

Wicked problems are challenges that have unclear aims and solutions. They are often challenges that keep changing and evolving. Some examples of current wicked problems are tackling climate change, obesity, hunger, poverty and more.

Tame Problems

‘ Tame ’ problems are those which have a straightforward solution and can be solved through logic and existing know-how. There is little value in using the creative problem solving process to solve tame problems.

Creative Problem Solving Skills

Specific thinking skills are essential to various aspects of the creative problem solving process. They include both cognitive (or intellectual) skills and affective (or attitudinal, motivational) skills.

There are also three overarching affective skills that are needed throughout the entire creative problem solving Process. These creative problem solving skills are:

  • Openness to new things, meaning the ability to entertain ideas that at first seem outlandish and risky
  • Tolerance for ambiguity, which is the ability to deal with uncertainty without leaping to conclusions
  • Tolerance for complexity, defined as being able to stay open and persevere without being overwhelmed by large amounts of information, interrelated and complex issues and competing perspectives

They show an individual’s readiness to participate in creative problem solving activities.

Creative Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

Critical thinking involves reflecting analytically and more objectively on your learning experiences and working processes. Based on your reflection, you can identify opportunities for improvement and make more effective decisions.

Critical thinking is an important skill when using the creative problem solving process because it will drive you to seek clarity, accuracy, relevance and evidence throughout.

Strategies for Creative Problem Solving

One of the most successful strategies for creative problem solving process is to get a multi-disciplinary team of internal, and sometimes external, stakeholders together for a creative problem solving workshop. Here is a process that you can use to facilitate your own creative problem solving workshop.

How to Facilitate a Creative Problem Solving Workshop

Challenge or problem statement.

The first, potentially most important, stage of the creative problem solving process is to create a challenge statement or problem statement. This means clearly defining the problem that you want to work on.

A challenge or problem statement is usually a sentence or two that explains the problem that you want to address through your creative problem solving workshop.

How might we…?

A good way of expressing your challenge is to use the starting phrase “How might we …?” to produce a question that will form the core of your creative problem solving mission. Framing your problem as a question in this way helps people to begin to think about possibilities and gives scope for experimentation and ideation.

Why it’s important to have a clear problem statement

Defining your problem or challenge statement matters because it will give you and your colleagues clarity from the outset and set out a specific mission for your collaborative working.

If you begin the creative problem solving process without a clear problem or challenge statement, you’ll likely experience misunderstanding and misalignment, and need to retrace your steps. Taking time to get your challenge or problem statement right is time well spent. You can download my free resources on how to create a challenge statement for innovation and growth here .

Creative Problem Solving Process

Once you have defined your creative problem to solve, and the strategies for creative problem solving that you want to use, the next steps are to work through each stage of the creative problem solving process. You can do this on your own, with your team, working cross-functionally with people from across your organization and with external stakeholders. For every step in the creative problem solving process there is a myriad of different techniques and activities that you can use. You could literally run scores of creative problem solving workshops and never have to repeat the same format or techniques! The creative problem solving techniques that I’m sharing here are just a few examples to get you started.

Creative Problem Solving Workshop Agenda

To make the creative problem solving process more accessible to more people, I’ve built on the work by Osborn, Parnes, Puccio and others, to create our Creative Problem Solving Workshop Journey Approach that you can use and adapt to work on literally any problem or challenge statement that you have. I’ve used it in sectors as diverse as nuclear engineering, digital and tech, utilities, local government, retail and e-ecommerce, transport, financial services, not-for-profit and many, many more.

Every single workshop we design for our clients is unique, and our starting point is always our ‘go-to’ outline agenda that we can use to save ourselves time and know that our sessions are well-designed and put together.

The timings are just my suggestion, so please do change them to suit the specific needs of your creative problem-solving workshop.

All the activities I suggest are presented for in-person workshops, and they can be adapted super-easily for virtual workshops, using and online whiteboard such as Miro .

Keep the activities for each agenda item long enough to allow people to get into it, but not too long. You want the sessions to feel appropriately pacey, active and engaging. Activities that are allowed to go on too long drag and sap creative energy.

Outline Agenda

Welcome and Warm-up                                             0900-0930

Where do we want to be, and why?                         0930-1000

Where are we today?                                                 1000-1030

Break                                                                           1030-1045

Why are we where we are today?                            1045-1115

Moving forward – Idea generation                           1115-1230

Lunch                                                                          1230-1315

Energiser                                                                     1315-1330

Moving forward – Idea development                       1330-1415

Break                                                                           1415-1445

Action Planning                                                           1445-1530

Review, feedback and close                                      1530-1600

Here is the agenda with more detail, and suggested activities for each item.

Detailed Creative Problem Solving Workshop Agenda

Welcome and warm-up.

The welcome and warm-up session is important because:

  • For groups who don’t know each other, it’s essential that people introduce themselves and start to get to know who everyone is.
  • This session also helps people to transition from their other work and activities to focusing on the purpose of the day.
  • It sets the tone for the rest of the event.

Items to include in the welcome and warm-up are:

  • Welcome to the event.
  • Thank people for taking the time.
  • The purpose and objectives of the event, and an overview of the agenda for the day. Introduce your problem or challenge statement.
  • Ground rules in terms of phone usage, breaks, confidentiality.

It’s good to have the agenda and ground rules visible so that everyone can see them throughout the day, and don’t forget to inform people of any fire evacuation instructions that need to be shared, and information on refreshments, washrooms and so on.

Remember to introduce yourself and say a little bit about you as the workshop leader, keeping it brief.

Things to look out for are:

  • How people are feeling – energy, interest, sociability, nervousness and so on.
  • Cliques or groups of people who choose to sit together. Make a mental note to move the groups around for different activities so that people get to work with as many different people as possible to stimulate thinking and make new connections.

If you’d like some ideas for icebreakers and warmups, there are lots to choose from in these articles:

Icebreakers for online meetings

Creative warmups and energizers that you can do outside

Where do we want to be, and why?

The first session in your creative problem-solving workshop aims to start with thinking about what the group wants to achieve in the future. As well as setting the direction for your problem statement for the day, it allows delegates to stretch their thinking before they become too embedded in working through their current position, issues and concerns. It is positive and motivational to identify those aspirations that everyone shares, even if the reasons or details differ from person to person.

Suggested creative problem-solving techniques for Where do we want to be, and why ?

Horizon Scanning

Brief the delegates as follows:

  • Use the resources / idea generators provided [e.g. magazines, newspapers, scissors, glue, stickers, glitter, any other craft items you like, flip chart paper) and your own thoughts.
  • Identify a range of themes that are relevant to the challenge statement you are working on in this workshop. Feel free to use your imagination and be creative!
  • For each theme, explain why it is important to the challenge statement.

This activity can be adapted for virtual workshops using online whiteboards such as Miro.

WIFI – Wouldn’t It Be Fantastic If…

This creative problem solving technique opens up delegates’ thinking and frames challenges as a positive and motivational possibility.

Ask delegates to spend just a few minutes completing the following statement as many times as they can with real items relating to their challenge for the workshop:

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if… (‘wifi’)

Delegates should then select the wibfi statements that would make the most material difference to their challenge.

They might have a couple or more of connected statements that they want to combine into a new one. If so, that’s completely fine.

Ask them to write their final statement on a flipchart.

Where are we today?

After establishing the vision for the future, it is important to gain a collective view on the starting point, and gain different, individual perspectives on the current position.

Suggested creative techniques for Where are we today?

Rich pictures

Rich pictures provide a useful way of capturing the elements of messy, unstructured situations and ambiguous and complex problems.

A rich picture is intended to portray the unstructured situation that the delegates are working with.

Brief the activity in as follows, noting that they can assist in the construction of a rich picture which should initially be rich in content, but the meaning of which may not be initially apparent. 

  • Ask delegates to consider the messy problem or situation that they are facing and dump all the elements of the scenario they are viewing in an unstructured manner using symbols and doodles.
  • Ask them to look for elements of structure such as buildings and so on, and elements of process such as things in a state of change. They may see ways in which the structure and process interact as they use hard factual data and soft subjective information in the picture. 
  • If appropriate, ask the delegates to include themselves in the picture as participants or observers, or both, and to give the rich picture meaningful and descriptive title.
  • Without explanation, one group’s rich picture is often a mystery to another observer, so ask small working groups to talk through the, to the wider group. It is not meant to be a work of art but a working tool to assist your delegates in understanding an unstructured problem or change scenario.

Out of the box

Representing a problem in any new medium can help bring greater understanding and provide a rich vehicle for discussion and idea generation.

Collect a range of (clean and safe!) junk materials, such as cardboard boxes, empty packets, old magazines and newspapers etc.

You will also need some string, glue and tape.

Ask delegates to use the items around them to create (a) 3D vision(s) of the solution(s) to their challenge.

This provides a different perspective, as well as getting everyone engaged, active and conversing.

Why are we here?

This stage of the away day focuses on helping the group to understand the critical success factors that have driven positive outcomes, as well as any constraints, perceived or real, that are getting in the way of future progress. It identifies items that can be explored further in the idea generation, selection and development stages.

Suggested creative techniques for Why are we here?

Ishikawa Fish Bone

The fishbone diagram was developed by Professor Ishikawa of the University of Tokyo. It can encourage development of a comprehensive and balanced picture, involving everyone, keeping everyone on track, discouraging partial or premature solutions, and showing the relative importance and interrelationships between different parts of the challenge.

Fishbone diagram template

Ask the delegates to write their problem statement to the fish bone template, like the example shown here.

Then ask them to identify the major categories of causes of the problem. If they are stuck on this, suggest some generic categories to get them going, such as:

Delegates should then write the categories of causes as branches from the main arrow.

Next, they will identify all the possible causes of the problem, asking: “Why does this happen?”

As each idea is given, one of the delegates in each group writes it as a branch from the appropriate category. Causes can be written in several places if they relate to several categories.

Again, get the delegates to ask: “why does this happen?” about each cause, and write sub–causes branching off the causes.

If you have time, ask the delegates to carry on asking “Why?” and generating deeper levels of causes.

Mind mapping

The term mind mapping was devised by Tony Buzan for the representation of ideas, notes, information and so on in radial tree diagrams, sometimes also called spider diagrams.

These are now very widely used.

To brief in the mind map technique, the instructions below are usually best communicated via a quick demonstration by the facilitator, using an everyday, fun topic and asking delegates to shout out ideas for you to capture.

How to mind map:

  • Ask delegates to turn their paper to landscape format and write a brief title for the overall topic in the middle of the page.
  • For each major subtopic or cluster of materials ask them to start a new major branch from the central topic and label it.
  • Continue in this way for ever finer sub-branches.
  • Delegates may find that they want to put an item in more than one place. They could just copy it into each place or they could just draw a line to show the connections.
  • Encourage delegates to use colour, doodles and to have fun with their mind map. This stimulates more right brain, creative thinking.

Mind mapping examples

Moving forward – Idea generation

The next sessions are all about coming up with ideas, potential solutions to get from your starting position to the vision for the future that you all created earlier.

I recommend that you use at least two, or preferably all three of the idea generation techniques I have provided here because if you only use one, you are more likely to only get the most obvious, top of mind ideas from your team.

By looking at your challenge or opportunity from different perspectives using a range of techniques, you are more likely to create greater diversity of ideas.

This technique is really good for almost any subject, and especially…

…getting input from everyone. The noisy ones have much less opportunity to dominate!

…getting all the thoughts that people have out of their heads and onto paper.

…getting you started. This is a really accessible technique that is easy to run.

…getting people talking and engaged.

You will need plenty of sticky notes and pens.

Clustering with sticky notes – step-by-step guide

  • Ask people to focus on the challenge that is the subject of the session.
  • Each person is to work individually at first. They will take a pile of post-it notes and a pen, and get as many items down on the post-it notes as they can, writing only one item on each post-it note so that each person has a pile of written notes in front of them (12-15 each would be great).
  • Say to the group that if they think they have finished, it probably is just a mental pause. The best thing for them to do is to look out of the window or move around briefly (but not look at their phones, laptop or disturb other people!) because they are likely to have a second burst of thinking. This is really important because it means you will get more thoughts down than just the obvious front-of-mind ones that come out early on. Allow 5-10 minutes for this step.
  • Make sure that people don’t put more than one item on a post-it note.
  • When everyone has got a pile of sticky notes and generally have run out of steam, ask them to “cluster” their notes as a group into similar themes on the flip chart paper, a bit like playing the card game “Snap”. Things that no-one else has should be included as a cluster of one item.
  • Ask the groups to put a ring around each cluster and give it a name that summarises the content.
  • Ask each group to feedback on the contents of their clusters, note similarities and differences and agree your next steps, writing them up on the flip chart for everyone to see.

Clustering with sticky notes

Force-fitting with pictures

Force-fitting is about using dissimilar, or apparently unrelated, objects, elements, or ideas to obtain fresh new possibilities for a challenge or opportunity. You will need some magazines, photos or newspapers for this activity.

It is a very useful and fun-filled method of generating ideas. The idea is to compare the problem with something else that has little or nothing in common and gain new insights as a result.

You can force a relationship between almost anything, and get new insights – companies and whales, management systems and data networks, or your relationship and a hedgehog. Forcing relationships is one of the most powerful ways to develop ways to develop new insights and new solutions.

The following activity – Random Stimulus, a useful way of generating ideas through a selection of objects or cards with pictures – takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete in total.

It is important to brief delegates to work intuitively through this process rather than over-thinking it. Just follow each of the simple steps outlined here in order.

Force-fitting with pictures step-by-step guide

Step 1 : Choose an image from the ones below at random. It really does not matter which one you choose, so just pick one that you think is interesting. This should take you no longer than a few seconds! Do this first before you move to the next steps.

Step 2: Now look at the image that you have selected. Feel free to pull it out so you can have it in front of you as you work. Write down as many interesting words as you can that come to mind when you look at the picture you have selected.

Step 3 : Now go back and “force fit” each of your interesting words into a potential solution for your challenge. If you have a negative word, turn it into a positive solution. Do this for every word on your list. You don’t have to work through the list in order – if you get stuck on a word, do another one and then come back to it when you’re ready. Don’t forget – premature evaluation stifles creativity. Just write stuff down without judging anything. You will have the opportunity to go back and select what you want / don’t want to use later.

Step 4 : Look at your outputs from this activity and highlight the things that resonate with you in terms of making progress with your challenge.

The SCAMPER technique is based very simply on the idea that anything new is actually a modification of existing old things around us.

SCAMPER was first introduced by Bob Eberle to address targeted questions that help solve problems or ignite creativity during creative meetings.

The name SCAMPER is acronym for seven thinking activities: ( S ) substitute, ( C ) combine, ( A ) adapt, ( M ) modify, ( P ) put to another use, ( E ) eliminate and ( R ) reverse. These keywords represent the necessary questions addressed during the creative thinking meeting. Ask you delegates to work through each one.

  • S —Substitute (e.g., components, materials, people)
  • C —Combine (e.g., mix, combine with other assemblies or services, integrate)
  • A —Adapt (e.g., alter, change function, use part of another element)
  • M —Magnify/Modify (e.g., increase or reduce in scale, change shape, modify attributes)
  • P —Put to other uses
  • E —Eliminate (e.g., remove elements, simplify, reduce to core functionality)
  • R —Rearrange/Reverse (e.g., turn inside out or upside down)

Moving forward – Idea development

The objective of this session is to select the most useful or interesting ideas that you have come up with in the earlier idea generation activities, and shape them into a useful solution.

Suggested creative techniques for Moving forward – Idea development:

This is a useful exercise to help your delegates to quickly prioritise their ideas as a team.

  • Ask delegates to use the grid shown here to plot their ideas, using sticky notes/
  • They should then write a question for each of their ‘yes’ and perhaps some of your ‘maybe’ items that begins with the words ‘ How could we …? ’
  • Then ask them to work on each of their questions, capturing their work a flipchart.

Sticky dot voting

Sticky dot voting is a quick, widely used voting method. Once all the ideas are on display give each group member a number of sticky dots (for example 5 each) to ‘vote’ for their favourite solution or preferred option. The number of sticky dots can vary according to what you think will work.

  • Give everyone a few minutes of quiet planning time so that they can privately work out their distribution of votes.
  • They may distribute their votes as they wish, for example: 2 or 3 on one idea, one each on a couple of others, all on one idea or one each on a whole series of ideas.
  • To minimise the risk of people being influenced by one another’s votes, no votes are placed until everyone is ready. When everyone is finished deciding, they go up to the display and place their votes by sticking dots beside the items of their choice.
  • As facilitator, lead a discussion on the vote pattern, and help the group to translate it into a shortlist for further development.

Once your delegates have selected their most promising ideas, choose from these creative problem solving techniques to help your group develop their thinking.

Assumption surfacing

Assumption surfacing is all about making underlying assumptions more visible.

  • Ask the group to identify the key choices they have made, thinking about what assumptions have guided these choices and why they feel they are appropriate.
  • Delegates should list the assumptions, and then add in a possible counter-assumption for each one.
  • They should then work down the list and delete any assumption / counter assumption pairs that do not materially affect the outcome of the choice.
  • Finally, ask delegates to reflect on the remaining assumptions, consider how these assumptions potentially impact their thinking and whether anything needs to be done as a result.

The words who, why, what, where, when, how are  known as 5Ws and H, or Kipling’s list.

They provide a powerful checklist for imagination or enquiry that is simple enough to prompt thinking but not get in the way.

Ask delegates to:

  • Create a list of key questions relating to their challenge, using 5Ws and H as prompts.
  • Then ask them to answer of their questions as a way of info gathering and solution-finding for their challenge.

Force field analysis

Force field analysis represents the opposing driving and restraining forces in situation.

For example, it can help to map out the factors involved in a problematic situation at the problem exploration stage, or to understand factors likely to help or hinder the action planning and implementation stages.

The process is as follows:

  • Delegates identify a list of the driving and restraining forces and discuss their perceptions of them.
  • All the driving forces are arrows propelling the situation, and all the restraining forces are arrows that push back against the direction of the current situation.
  • Delegates can use arrow thickness to indicate strength of the force, and arrow lengths to indicate either how difficult the force would be to modify, although these elements are optional.
  • Delegates can then use the diagrams to generate ideas around possible ways to move in the desired direction by finding ways to remove the restraining forces and by increasing the driving forces.

Wizard of Oz prototyping

In the classic story of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her friends go to see the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz only to discover that he’s a fraud with no real magic.

Wizard of Oz Prototyping means creating a user experience that looks and feels very realistic, but is an illusion created to test an idea and generate a lot of really useful feedback very quickly and early on in your design process. The approach also means that you avoid incurring the cost of having to build the real solution.

In the workshop, ask delegates to consider how they could create a Wizard of Oz prototype through rough design sketches, lego or modelling clay.

Action Planning

I’m sure that many of us have been to meetings or events that have been interesting and maybe even fun at the time, but quickly forgotten due to lack of follow up or commitment to take action once the workshop is over.

The action planning phase is an essential part of mobilising the thinking from the workshop into meaningful, pragmatic activity and progress in the organisation. Getting commitment to deliver specific actions within agreed timescales from individuals at the workshop is as essential part of any event.

Suggested creative technique for Action Planning :

Blockbusters

You may remember the 80s quiz show called Blockbusters? Teenage contestants had to get from one side of the board to the other by answering questions.

This technique is based on a similar (sort of!) principle, and it is useful for action planning and helping delegates to visualise moving from where they are now to where they want to be.

  • First ask delegates to write down the key aspects of where they are now on sticky notes (one item per sticky note) and put them down the left-hand side of a piece of flipchart paper, landscape.
  • Then delegates are to do the same for the key aspects of where they would like to be, this time placing the sticky notes on the right-hand side of the paper, each one aligned to a relevant note on the left-hand side. For example, of they have a sticky note that says ‘struggling for sales’ on the left, they might have one that says ‘increase turnover by 35%’ on the right, both positioned level with each other.
  • The final step is for delegates to fill in the space between with the 5 key actions for each item that will get them from where they are now to where they want to be. These can be different and separate actions, and don’t have to be in chronological order.
  • You can ask delegates to add in target timescales and owners for each action as well.

Review, feedback and close

At the end of the day, it’s essential to bring everything together, review the progress and thank attendees.

It’s also a great opportunity to gain some feedback on the participants’ experience of the session.

Suggested creative technique for Review, feedback and close :

Goldfish Bowl

The general idea of this technique is that a small group (the core) is the focus of the wider group. The small group discusses while the rest of the participants sit around the outside and observe without interrupting. Facilitation is focused on the core group discussion.

A variation is to invite people from the outside group to ‘jump in’ and replace a member of the core group. It sounds a bit odd on paper, but it works very well and can be great fun.

Sometimes people in the core group are quite pleased to be ‘relieved’ of their duties!

In smaller events, it is also a good idea to make it a game. Make sure that everyone jumps into the core group at least once.

 This can really help people focus on active listening, and on building on each other’s points.

Often the best way to brief this in is by demonstrating it with a willing volunteer.

For more facilitation tips, techniques and ideas, have a look at my articles here:

How to design a virtual innovation sprint

How to facilitate a virtual brainstorming session

How to facilitate a goal setting workshop

How to be a great facilitator

I’d love to hear from you, whether you’re facilitating your own creative problem solving workshops, or would like some help from us to design and facilitate them for you. I hope you’ve found this article helpful. If you’d like to join my free, private Facebook group, Idea Time for Workshop Facilitators , for even more ideas and resources, please do come and join us.

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Facilitator's Guide to Effective Solutions

Discover key facilitation skills with our guide to effective solutions. Boost your team's productivity and problem-solving capabilities today!

In the confluence of group dynamics and problem-solving, facilitation stands as a key catalyst driving collective efforts towards tangible solutions. Myriad organizational contexts demand skillful guidance to navigate through the complex web of ideas, perspectives, and potentials that coexist within any group aiming for consensus and effective action. This blog post is crafted to usher facilitators into realms of higher efficacy, offering a robust compendium of insights and methods that steer towards successful outcomes. The role of a facilitator is not to dominate but to elevate group potentials, acting as the bedrock upon which effective solution methods are constructed and realized.

Encompassing the essence of problem-solving facilitation, we will delve deeply into the facilitator's guide, characterizing the indispensable skills and strategies that empower facilitators to shape group interactions with finesse. Through the lens of practical experience and academic rigor, we will explore the vital components and techniques ensuring facilitation is not just a passive act but rather a deliberate orchestration towards achieving collaborative triumphs.

For those seeking to amplify their facilitation skills, I also offer additional resources and training opportunities. Whether through a problem solving course or an online MBA course , these educational pathways offer a structured and comprehensive approach to mastering the facilitator's artistry. Join me in this endeavor to refine our craft and guide our groups to the pinnacle of problem-solving success.

Understanding the Role of a Facilitator

Defining the facilitator's role in group dynamics.

Facilitation is an artful blend of leadership and service, in which the individual at its helm operates within group dynamics to foster an environment conducive to open communication and productive collaboration. Crucial to this role is the capacity to navigate through the intricacies of interpersonal relations while keeping sight of the collective goal. A facilitator's key responsibility is to enable all members to contribute effectively, ensuring that ideas, regardless of their source, are given due consideration in the journey toward an agreed-upon destination.

Characteristics of a Successful Facilitator

Impartiality and the art of managing personal biases.

Central to the toolkit of a successful facilitator is the virtue of impartiality . In guiding groups, one must master the art of managing personal biases, creating a space where decisions are not swayed by the facilitator's inclinations but are rather the product of collective reason. This task demands a high degree of self-awareness and introspective acumen.

Skills in active listening and effective communication

Ingrained deep within the fabric of facilitative excellence are the skills in active listening and effective communication . Adept facilitators exert effort to fully comprehend the ideas presented before them, inviting clarity and fostering a sense of value in each participant. Curling around the tendrils of understanding, their communication must be clear, paced, and resonant with the group's frequency, ensuring that every member follows the discourse without impediment.

Adaptability and Emotional Intelligence

Adaptability alongside emotional intelligence equips a facilitator with a profound flexibility to pivot as group dynamics fluctuate. The capacity to sense the emotional undercurrents and respond with empathy allows for the navigation of complex, human-centric landscapes. It is within this flux that the facilitator's hand gently guides the collective towards cohesion and collaborative ingenuity.

How a Facilitator Can Foster a Collaborative Environment

Creating a collaborative environment is akin to cultivating a rich soil from which the seeds of ideas may sprout and flourish. A facilitator's adeptness in nurturing discussion, encouraging respectful dialogue, and bridging differences lays the infrastructure for mutual understanding and the co-creation of knowledge. By setting ground rules and maintaining a safe space for expression, facilitators become gardeners of group synergy, allowing for the cross-pollination of perspectives and the emergence of innovative solutions.

Foundations of Effective Solution Methods

Setting clear objectives and outcomes.

At the genesis of every group endeavor lies the crucial phase of setting clear objectives and outcomes. An effective facilitator must shoulder the responsibility to crystallize the vision, articulating the group's desired future with precision and motivating participants to align their efforts accordingly. This process establishes a shared direction, providing a compass by which all subsequent ideas and actions can be measured and guided.

The Process of Identifying Stakeholder Needs and Expectations

Within the group's ecosystem, every stakeholder carries distinct needs and expectations that must be understood and respected. The facilitator's duty in this regard is to conduct a thoughtful analysis, engaging with each member or representative to capture their voice and integrate their interests into the larger tableau of collective objectives. Such inclusivity ensures that the multitude of stakeholder perspectives forms the bedrock of the group's endeavors, setting the stage for genuine buy-in and commitment.

Strategies for Prioritizing Issues and Challenges within the Group

As groups navigate the multifaceted landscape of issues at hand, a systematic approach to prioritizing challenges becomes imperative. Facilitators must employ strategies that encourage critical assessment and discernment, providing frameworks by which the group can distinguish between the urgent and the important. Emphasizing consequential impacts and potential leverages, the facilitator's strategic lens helps to direct the group's energy towards the most pivotal points of intervention.

Techniques for Encouraging Participation and Inclusivity

Creating an inclusive atmosphere that entices all members to partake and contribute meaningfully is a testament to a facilitator's expertise. Employing techniques such as round-robin sharing, structured brainstorming, and small group breakouts can democratize the floor, allowing each individual to share their perspectives without the overshadowing presence of dominant voices. It is this harmonization of participation that yields a rich tapestry of thoughts and solutions representative of the group's collective genius.

Facilitation Techniques for Enhancing Engagement

Utilizing open questions and probing techniques.

To unearth the depths of group wisdom, a facilitator must be adept in the use of open questions and probing techniques. By posing queries that invite expansive thinking, the facilitator encourages participants to venture beyond surface-level responses and delve into more profound reflections. Skillful probing can illuminate hidden assumptions, challenge entrenched beliefs, and pave the way for innovative thinking, thereby propelling the group towards a more comprehensive understanding and novel pathways of action.

Promoting Creative Thinking and Ideation

The oxygen that fuels the fire of innovation within groups is creative thinking. Facilitators play a crucial role in fostering an environment where imagination is not only permitted but prized. Techniques such as encouraging metaphorical thinking, utilizing thought experiments, and embracing design thinking methodologies embolden participants to step outside their cognitive confines and generate ideas that possess the potential to revolutionize their collective efforts.

Methods to Build Consensus

Voting systems and their application.

Forming consensus is an intricate dance of aligning diverse viewpoints into a coherent pattern. In facilitating this process, voting systems can serve as impartial mechanisms by which groups can gauge collective inclinations. Whether utilizing dot voting, ranked choices, or a simple show of hands, these methods bring democratic principles into the fold, offering a quantifiable measure of the group's consensus or highlighting areas that demand further deliberation.

Techniques for balancing disparate viewpoints

A proficient facilitator is a maestro in the art of balancing disparate viewpoints, weaving them into a tapestry that represents the group's multifaceted thinking. Approaches like reflective listening, restating and summarizing points of contention, and identifying common values can create bridges between differing perspectives, crafting a middle ground where agreement can be cautiously fostered and cherished.

Using Visual Aids and Other Tools to Clarify Ideas

The clarity of an idea is often enhanced by its visualization. In this regard, facilitators can leverage visual aids such as flow charts, mind maps, or infographics to crystallize concepts for the group. These tools act as focal points around which dialogue can revolve, serving to eliminate ambiguity and foster a shared understanding. The adept use of such aids can transform abstract discussions into tangible visions, engendering collective clarity and advancing the group towards actionable conclusions.

Problem-Solving Facilitation in Practice

Step-by-step approach to guiding groups through problem-solving, introduction to problem identification.

Problem-solving facilitation commences with a meticulous approach to problem identification. Facilitators must guide groups through the critical process of defining the problem at hand, ensuring that the issue is clearly articulated and understood by all participants. This foundational step establishes the stage upon which all subsequent problem-solving endeavors are constructed.

Encouraging diverse solutions

Once the problem landscape has been thoroughly mapped, the facilitator's role is to encourage the exploration of a diversity of solutions. This is achieved by nurturing an environment of non-judgment where creativity can breathe freely, and even the most unorthodox ideas are welcomed for consideration. It is within this expansive ideation space that the potential for groundbreaking solutions is unlocked.

Navigating the decision-making process

Guiding a group through the decision-making process requires a facilitator's adroit navigation, balancing analysis with intuition, fostering consensus while mitigating conflicts, and ensuring that the selected solution is both effective and practical. The facilitator's capability to maintain engagement and focus during this phase is pivotal to arriving at a decision that embodies the collective intelligence and commitment of the group.

Case Studies Demonstrating Problem-Solving Facilitation

Analysis of real-world facilitation scenarios.

Reflection upon case studies and real-world scenarios enhances the understanding of problem-solving facilitation in action. Analyzing the trajectories of successful facilitation instances provides rich learning fodder, offering glimpses into the strategies, techniques, and attitudes that contributed to their outcomes. These narratives not only offer a repository of applied knowledge but also inspire adaptation and innovation in future facilitation challenges.

Lessons learned from past facilitation experiences

Drawing from the well of past facilitation experiences is intrinsically educational for both fledgling and veteran facilitators. Valuable lessons emerge from introspecting on what worked, what failed, and the continuous evolution of best practices. Acknowledging past shortcomings and successes is integral to honing one's craft, perpetuating a cycle of experiential learning that enriches the facilitator's capacity to guide groups effectively.

Successful Facilitation Strategies

The balance between leading and following in facilitation.

The alchemy of facilitation exists in the balance between leading the group and following its natural course. Successful facilitation is not marked by overt control but by a keen sense of when to guide and when to let the group's inherent wisdom surface. This delicate equilibrium enables the group to own its process while benefiting from the facilitator's structured approach, ensuring that outcomes are both organically conceived and strategically sound.

Conflict Resolution Techniques for Facilitators

Inevitably, conflicts arise within groups, and the methods by which a facilitator addresses these frictions can make or break the problem-solving process. Expertise in conflict resolution is thus indispensable, encompassing active listening, empathy, neutral language, and the mediation of differing interests to unearth win-win scenarios. These techniques serve to defuse tension, foster understanding, and maintain group cohesiveness, thereby preserving the collective's problem-solving momentum.

Time Management and Maintaining Group Focus

Facilitators are timekeepers and focus enhancers, directing the group's energies towards productivity within the confines of the available hours. Effective time management involves setting a pace that balances thorough exploration with the necessity for progress, while maintaining group focus demands an ever-vigilant eye on objectives and the adept redirection of conversations that stray. Mastering these aspects ensures that group sessions are not only rich in content but also culminate in decisive outcomes within practical timeframes.

Measuring Success and Achieving Tangible Outcomes

The ultimate gauge of a facilitation's success is the achievement of tangible outcomes that reflect the group's objectives. This entails establishing clear criteria for success upfront, continually assessing progress, and facilitating the translation of abstract ideas into actionable steps. Successful facilitators not only steer groups to a conclusion but also ensure the path forward is marked by implementable strategies that manifest agreed-upon solutions into reality.

In this exploration of the facilitator's guide to effective solutions, we've traversed the terrain of the facilitator's role, the foundational approaches to effective solution methods, the nuances of engaging facilitation techniques, the intricacies of guiding problem-solving, and strategies that beget facilitation success. The confluence of these elements personifies the craft of facilitation—a craft that is simultaneously an art and a science, requiring finesse, intuition, and systematic methodology.

The journey of a facilitator is one of continuous learning and growth, requiring unwavering commitment to self-improvement and the evolution of one's approach. As facilitators, we are encouraged to reflect deeply on the insights presented, integrate them within our practice, and thereby elevate our ability to shepherd groups to realize the full breadth of their potential.

As we close this guide, I extend an invitation to all facilitators to share their experiences and insights into the ever-evolving art of facilitation. Your stories and perspectives are invaluable additions to this collective knowledge base, and I encourage all to engage in further discussions that enrich our communal understanding.

What are the key principles outlined in a Facilitator's Guide to Effective Solutions?

Understanding the facilitator's role.

Facilitators shoulder the crucial task of guiding groups. Their work ensures focused dialogue and decision-making. They navigate group dynamics with grace. Effective solutions often emerge from such careful stewardship.

Key Principles for Effective Facilitation

Clarity in purpose.

Clarity stands as the foundation of facilitation. The facilitator must understand the group's goals. This understanding shapes the entire process.

Neutral Stance

Facilitators must exhibit neutrality. They guide without influencing outcomes with personal bias. Objectivity allows for balanced discussions.

Active Listening

Listening acts as a critical tool. It communicates respect and understanding. The facilitator acknowledges all contributions.

Skilled Questioning

Questions can unlock deeper insights. Facilitators use them to steer conversations. They also encourage reflective thinking.

Adaptability

Flexibility remains a vital trait. The facilitator must adjust to shifting group dynamics. Adaptation is key to maintaining progress.

Consensus-Building

Building agreement bridges divergent viewpoints. The facilitator fosters consensus through inclusive practices. All voices matter in decision-making.

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts may arise. A skilled facilitator recognizes tensions early. They then use techniques to address conflicts constructively.

Time Management

Time is precious during facilitation. The facilitator ensures the group adheres to schedules. Efficiency contributes to effectiveness.

Fostering Participation

Engagement drives productive discussions. The facilitator encourages participation from all members. Diverse input enriches outcomes.

Creating Safe Spaces

Safety is essential for openness. Participants need a secure environment for sharing. The facilitator sets a respectful tone.

Following a Structured Process

Structure aids in managing sessions. An effective facilitator outlines clear processes. These guide activities and discussions.

Continuous Improvement

Facilitators seek growth. They reflect on practices and solicit feedback. Improvement informs future facilitation.

Implementing Principles in Practice

These principles provide a roadmap. They assist facilitators in delivering effective solutions. Facilitators commit to ongoing learning and refining skills. The guide exists to enhance group outcomes. It serves as a compass for facilitating with integrity and purpose.

How does a facilitator's guide contribute to problem-solving in a group setting?

The role of a facilitator's guide.

In group settings, problem-solving can prove challenging. A facilitator's guide becomes a vital tool. It offers structure to deliberations. Through it, facilitators direct discussions efficiently.

Structure and Focus

A guide promotes a structured approach. It outlines objectives clearly. Participants understand expectations before they begin. Each step has pre-set questions. These spark relevant dialogues. Thus, the group stays on task.

Empowering Participants

The guide also empowers group members. It includes activities that encourage equal participation. All voices gain a chance to surface. Diversity becomes an advantage, not a hindrance.

Disagreements often emerge during collaboration. The guide provides conflict resolution strategies. Facilitators address divisive issues promptly. They employ outlined techniques. As a result, the group preserves its cohesion.

Creativity and Innovation

Creativity in problem-solving is crucial. The guide suggests brainstorming sessions. It also proposes other creativity-spurring methods. These techniques break conventional thinking patterns. Fresh ideas flourish.

Monitoring Progress

Progress evaluation is easier with a guide. It contains checkpoints after each phase. Facilitators and participants review accomplishments. They can adjust their strategies if necessary. Continuous improvement becomes part of the problem-solving process.

In essence, a facilitator's guide secures effective group problem-solving. It ensures focus, supports participation, and navigates conflicts. It also inspires new solutions and monitors progress. The group thus finds its path to resolution more clearly and quickly.

Can you elaborate on the approaches a facilitator should adopt as guided by the Facilitator's Guide to Effective Solutions?

Understanding facilitator roles.

Facilitators guide group processes. They ensure efficient meetings. Their role is essential. Effective facilitation insures collective solutions. The Facilitator's Guide to Effective Solutions provides crucial strategies. These strategies foster successful outcomes. They target group dynamics optimization. A facilitator needs to adopt multiple approaches. The guide underlines these approaches.

Establishing the Environment

First, one must establish trust. Trust promotes open dialogue. Transparency is key here. Facilitators set the scene. This entails a welcoming atmosphere. Without trust, participation falters. Active listening becomes the first tool. It conveys respect. It validates participant contributions.

Building Relationships

Building relationships involves personal investment. Cohesiveness stems from these connections. Facilitators act as bridges. They bridge diverse opinions. Their goal is common understanding. The guide suggests continuous engagement. This fosters a supportive environment.

Inclusivity shapes effective facilitation. All views merit consideration. The guide emphasizes diverse input. Facilitators must encourage quiet voices. They balance the conversation. Techniques vary per situation. Workshops may need breakout sessions. Large groups may use polling. Participation nurtures a sense of ownership.

Guiding the Process

Facilitators navigate group discussions. They keep groups on track. Their expertise manages time well. They ensure topic adherence. They prevent derailment. Group energy guides their actions.

Encouraging Creativity

Creativity unlocks potential. Facilitators stimulate imagination. They propose brainstorming. They suggest role-plays. Open-ended questions spark ideas. They encourage risk-taking. Mistakes become learning opportunities. This approach fosters innovation.

Structuring Decision-Making

Structured decision-making is crucial. Choices drive progress. Facilitators promote consensus-building. They respect majority decisions. Sometimes they must facilitate voting. They guide toward actionable solutions.

Managing Conflict

Conflict is inevitable. Facilitators handle it delicately. They remain neutral. They diffuse tensions. They seek common ground. Emotions require acknowledgment. The guide advises patience. Dispute resolution skills are necessary. These skills must be honed.

Ensuring Accountability

Outcome tracking is vital. It validates the process. It encourages responsibility. Milestones guide the group. Progress needs measurement. Facilitators record decisions. They document action plans. This leads to transparent follow-ups.

Reflecting and Learning

Continuous improvement defines facilitation. Each session offers insights. Reflective practice is imperative. Facilitators must self-assess. Feedback informs next steps. It refines skills. Learning is an ongoing journey.

In conclusion, facilitators must wear many hats. Each role they play is pivotal. Adaptability is their asset. The Facilitator's Guide to Effective Solutions is their compass. It leads them through uncharted group dynamics. Their approaches shape effective outcomes. The guide ensures that facilitation remains an artful science. It empowers facilitators. It turns group potential into reality.

A middle-aged man is seen wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses. His hair is slightly tousled, and he looks off to the side, suggesting he is deep in thought. He is wearing a navy blue sweater, and his hands are folded in front of him. His facial expression is one of concentration and contemplation. He appears to be in an office, with a white wall in the background and a few bookshelves visible behind him. He looks calm and composed.

He is a content producer who specializes in blog content. He has a master's degree in business administration and he lives in the Netherlands.

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problem solving facilitation techniques

Strategies for Better Facilitation and Team Problem Solving

Published: September 29, 2014 by Michael Carver

problem solving facilitation techniques

Many people want to attribute these failures (and they are failures) to the quality methodologies used. It is not uncommon to hear, for example, that Six Sigma is too complex or that Lean works best in production environments. For every method there is an excuse. But the failures transcend industry, culture, education and reward structure. What is more frustrating about this “almost engaged,” “almost empowered” phenomenon is that the people participating believe, during the workshops, that they are doing everything right. They believe they are highly engaged and most outsiders would look in and agree.

So what is wrong? Why do what appear to be highly engaged teams opt out when it comes time to act, and why do they not believe they have opted out? Keep reading to learn how to achieve successful problem-solving and continuous improvement execution.

Four Dysfunctions

One of the benefits of making a career in Lean Six Sigma is learning to distrust instincts and demand data. Ask any instrument-rated pilot, however, and it is clear that learning to distrust instincts is hard!

When it comes to the facilitation of a group, many practitioners rely on instincts derived from prevailing wisdom about how to lead teams. While those habits and instincts are hard to ignore, that prevailing wisdom might actually be teaching people to disengage.

How a leader manages or facilitates a team determines who executes the projects a team designs – that is, who does the work. Four simple observations – or dysfunctions – of team dynamics suggest common pitfalls of facilitation and ultimately how to improve team performance.

Dysfunction 1: How Does the Team View the Improvement Process?

How does the team view the improvement process? Is it a short-term event, or is this part of an overall improvement program? Do team members see the goals as long-term and far reaching, or is this a tactical engagement that might look good on a resume but is not likely to impact the participants personally? The key to long-term engagement is to win the hearts and minds of the involved individuals. Anything else and individuals will pretend to engage, meaning they are really expecting the facilitator to be the person who executes change, NOT them. They are advising and assisting but are not committed.

Dysfunction 2: What Level of Participation Is Achieved?

Once beyond the programme du jour roadblock, the second dysfunction is the level of participation that is achieved. There are two issues here:  1) overall participation (average engagement) and 2) individual engagement (median engagement). It is important to remember that engagement is a process and if there is a difference between the average and the median, there is a non-random problem (i.e., not normal). Since there are no fundamentals that dictate engagement to be anything other than normal, it is safe to assume that that difference means there are disparate groups within a team. In other words, it is not team; a non-team will not perform like a team.

Dysfunction 3: Where Does the Team Place Its Focus?

The third dysfunction is well known – it relates to where the team places its focus. If the team places its focus on blaming others for problems (for example, it is almost always information technology’s [IT] fault), then the expectation is that those groups receiving the blame should fix the problem. If the team focuses on business constraints, they are actually shifting from themselves to those who impose the constraints (for example, when it is not IT’s fault, it is quality’s fault). Consider the problem solving the team is engaging in. Is their focus on how to solve the problem or why the problem exists? When teams focus too early on the tactical solution what they are really doing is disengaging from the problem-solving process. They want the problem solved immediately so they can return to their “day” jobs.

Dysfunction 4: With Whom Is the Team Discussing the Problem?

The forth dysfunction requires an attentive eye. Look to see with whom the team is discussing the problem. When all of the discussion is arbitrated by the facilitator, the team is not so subtly informing the facilitator that they are providing information for someone else to employ when solving the problem. It is only when the team discusses issues among themselves – without the intervention and arbitration of the facilitator – that they engage in team problem solving.

It is deceptive because in the early stages of the team’s forming, the facilitator often provides all of the structure and tries to coax the rest of the team into participation. Furthermore, most leaders got to be leaders by being good at execution, so the natural tendency is to lead by driving the rest of the team to do what you want. The problem comes when a facilitator does not step back after the process is underway. If the facilitator always leads, the team may be comfortable continuing to expect them to lead the project execution as well as the problem-solving process. They stay engaged while the facilitator forces them to be engaged.

Three Causes of Problems

These dysfunctions are not spontaneous and every business or project does not experience all of them. They are, however, prevalent enough to warrant a look at not only why they occur but also how to actively guard against them creeping into a team process. There are three key drivers that create these problems. They are not independent, and to correlate one cause with any single dysfunction would be an  oversimplification. The only clear correlation is that these issues tend to diminish with experience.

Cause 1: Lack of Patience

The first major cause of problems with team dynamics is a lack of patience. A team leader must always remember that people learn at different rates. A facilitator must be careful not to become overly impatient with those who have not yet gotten on board with the program. Change is a difficult proposition and many will feel threatened by the prospect of enduring change let alone creating that change. The leader must help the team members engage.

Cause 2: Cost Cutting Rather Than Value Creation

Team leaders are not the only ones who must exude patience. Executive leadership must also understand that there is a fine line between demanding rapid results and destroying long-term gains in favor of short-term fixes. When leadership is unrealistic or overzealous in setting expectations, they risk creating a situation where the process improvement teams do not engage for fear of failure. When leadership focuses on tactical gains they should not be surprised that their employees also shorten their decision horizon. Sometimes that event horizon gets so close that every action is reactive and continuous improvement becomes impossible.

This second cause for poor team dynamics most commonly manifests in a focus on cost cutting rather than value creation. No one has ever been able to economize their way to growth.

Cause 3: The Facilitator

The final underlying cause for team dysfunction relates to the facilitators themselves and self-confidence. In a true Kaizen environment, for example, the leader is not at the center of attention. Rank falls to the background, leaders sit side by side with team members and the product of the team’s labor (with its associated problems and issues) is the center of focus. There is no need for posturing or self-aggrandizement. Unfortunately, this is often not how things work. In most instances, the team members talk to the facilitator, not to each other. The facilitator exerts expert influence (and often positional influence) to direct the team. Although it may look like a team process, decision making and discussion is staged and limited. It is important to know what is happening, but a facilitator cannot let team members feel inferior if they are to participate.

Five Strategies for Problem Solving

How can businesses move from a team room standoff between the ego of the leaders and the fear of the participants? How can problems be the focus rather than blame? People need to participate and change the way they view improvement. Businesses must take a long-term view, and individuals need to work with each other and not look to others to solve their problems for them. The following is a list of strategies for solving these problems.

Strategy 1: Listen

One of the biggest mistakes leaders can make is not giving their people a voice in the processes they manage. How much dialogue is created in meetings is directly correlated to how confident leaders are that those who are being led will act in a desired manner. It is not about leaders’ needs, feelings or fears – it is about their insecurities. A good leader must not constantly fill the space and demand that teams step up. Otherwise, deference is being subtly promoted, as is permission for team members to opt-out.

The best leaders lead from the ranks. This is not to say they have no positional authority but rather that they choose to exercise that authority in a strategic manner. Remember, in the end it is the team – not just the leader – who must execute the project. This means they must buy-in and believe in the change they are about to create. In other words, it must be their change, not the leader’s alone. Leaders must help team members create change rather than direct them to do so.

Strategy 2: Leave Ranks at the Door

Giving up the floor means that leaders also give up some control. Good leaders know that they gain more than they lose in this transition but it is important to remember that each person will have a unique perspective and approach to solving problems. The trick is to embrace these differences and exploit them rather than expect everyone to act in the manner with which leaders are most comfortable.

The problem, however, is that no one wants to contradict the leaders, so as long as they act as “the boss,” discussion is stifled. Leaders probably do not intend for this to be the case. But even if they say that everyone should treated equally, when all the other signals indicate that the leader is the boss, that equality will not result. If team members are talking to the leaders, to impress them, they are not speaking with each other; they are not a team and will not ultimately embrace the responsibility to do the project.

How can leaders leave rank at the door?

1. Look like a member of the team. This can be as simple as how leaders dress, where they sit and with whom they speak. Their ultimate goal in not expressing rank is for everyone else to step into the power vacuum that they are allowing. For team members to step up, leaders must make it feel safe to do so.

Dress the way the team does. Do not be overly formal or informal in situations where the team will feel uncomfortable matching your attire. If leaders want to leave their ranks at the door, start by not displaying them openly.

Do not sit at the front or rear of the room, or be positioned in a way that makes a leader look less accessible. If leaders take a position of power (such as standing at the front of the room) everyone will focus on them. In a problem-solving session, team members should focus on each other. If a leader takes the position of disconnected oversight (for example, sitting by the door) people will assume the leaders are there to observe and judge (also an expression of power). If leaders stand at the periphery of the group, people will assume they are only going through the motions of being a team member and not really committed. Sit down, dig in and be on the team.

2. Participate fairly. Once a leader looks like part of the team, she must behave as part of the team. This is more complex because others will attempt to push her back into the positional leadership role. Sometimes the leader will need to exercise that authority in a limited manner but remember that for “leaving rank at the door” to work, that rank must stay at the door. If there is a facilitator, leaders should not step into their role. If there are subteams, allow others to lead them. Do not dominate discussions, do take direction from others and do not show favoritism toward direct reports (especially when it undermines their ability to leave their ranks at the door).

3. Ask questions that allow others to demonstrate knowledge, expertise and power. A good portion of leaving rank behind is coaching and mentoring others to lead. Successfully opening a space for them to lead from is not enough; leaders need to make them feel comfortable standing in that space, and this often means needing to help them exert their own personal power. With or without a rank insignia, a leader has positional authority. Help team members express their expertise, help them leverage their relationships to influence others and allow them to exercise their positional authority with others outside the core project team.  The best way to do this is by asking prompting questions.

Remember, the reason we leave rank at the door is to allow others to feel safe from judgment. A leader is the boss, but here the boss must be a colleague. Create an environment for team members to feel safe, secure and strong.

4. Commit to being an active, sincere member of the team. Do not be surprised when a leader claims to be “part of the team” but everyone still thinks otherwise. Words are cheap; actions are needed. If a leader is part of the team, he needs to have the same level of dedication for the task that everyone else on the team is asked to have. Everyone will mimic the level of commitment of the most senior team members. If leaders skip meetings, if leaders have excuses for why they cannot do the work, so will the rest of the team.

Strategy 3: Not All Ideas Are Great, But All Perspectives Are

Do not lose sight of why diverse teams are desired. It is great to have consensus and unanimity but it does not generate innovation. Problem-solving teams need a diversity of thought but, more importantly, everyone on the team needs to feel appreciated and valued. This means hearing their views, accepting their perspectives and considering all ideas.

Old-school brainstorming argues that “there are no bad ideas,” but that is not true. As soon as someone makes that assertion, someone proposes the ludicrous, the outrageous and the simply impossible. There is, however, still value in hearing those concepts to conclusion. Why?

It is possible that these wild ideas will lead to other ideas and one of those will be a breakthrough. It is not likely, but it is possible. This is not the reason leaders should embrace everyone’s ideas, though. The real reason is motivational.

The person who proposed mounting all the furniture on the ceiling or that everyone should wear purple tutus to work on Fridays knows those ideas have zero merit. They are setting up a challenge. The proposal is either an attempt to expand the set of ideas considered or it is an attempt to justify not fully participating. Either way the challenge is made for an effect. How leaders manage those challenges sets up how the team will view them as leaders.

Strategy 4:  Push and Pull the Team Together

Teams do not just happen. People cannot be forced to care about or trust each other. Those relationships must be formed by a team-building process and if that process is shortened, the team will not perform well.  A team leader’s role is not so much to manage the team’s work as it is to manage this team-building process.

In the 1960s, group dynamics researcher Bruce Tuckman penned a team behavior model that explains the four stages of team development. The key learning is that teams must evolve and mature – they do not just happen. How leaders manage teams through these stages of development ultimately determines how successful and how empowered the teams will be.

When this process is shortened, the team does not gel; if the team does not gel, then they devolve into a group of people who may express their ideas, frustrations and expectations. They may engage in solving these problems as individuals but they will not own the solution process and will not fully leverage the expertise and talents of others in the group. Team members will not trust each other and expect them to deliver in their role on the team, and will not commit to ensuring the success of other members of the team. When the members of the team do not gel as a team, the ultimate accountability for the success of the team will fall on the leader rather than the team as a unit.

To be successful, the process to create the team must be actively managed. Once a team is assembled, give them a sense of purpose. Help team members understand their roles as well as the role of everyone else on the team. Let the team members find their niches, express their unique perspectives and bond with their teammates. Reinforce good decision-making strategies and coach the team on how to be inclusive and effective. Celebrate their victories and mourn their setbacks. It is a hard job but rewarding.

Strategy 5:  Focus on Small, Incremental Changes

Often by the time companies engage in continuous improvement, the needs are huge. Improvement teams, eager to make a significant impact and seeing opportunity everywhere, oversell the opportunities. They are not necessarily overpromising intentionally, but the teams that are servicing are overeager to get results. This results in large meetings with diverse constituents attempting to re-engineer entire workstreams; they crash and burn. This does not always happen but it happens too much. Ideally, a LSS culture is being deployed, not just a set of tools. Ideally, an organization is in this for the long-haul. Why rush?

Save your blitzkrieg for the experts who can mop up the mistakes and who already know how the processes and philosophies of LSS work. Teach people in a manner that promotes understanding and retention as they learn new skill sets. Let employees learn how the process really works and then move to more complex systems. When we teach this way, people learn quickly and efficiently.

It that huge opportunity being abandoned? Absolutely not! It is vital to remember that for continuous improvement to be ultimately successful not just processes must change, but also mindsets. Were a leader to magically make all the processes perfect today but fail to instill a mindset in their staff that promotes and demands constant improvements, the gains would be transient and before long an organization would be again facing an improvement opportunity. On the other hand, if leaders instill the correct mindset, the problems will eventually be worn away by people no longer willing to tolerate inefficiency.

Proper Facilitation for Long-term Success

If a business is not getting the desired results from a continuous improvement program, look at the facilitators before switching to another methodology. Properly leading your team will leverage better long-term results than any innovation in problem solving.

It is not the responsibility of the followers to follow, it is the obligation of the leader to convince them to follow.

About the Author

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Michael Carver

problem solving facilitation techniques

Work Life is Atlassian’s flagship publication dedicated to unleashing the potential of every team through real-life advice, inspiring stories, and thoughtful perspectives from leaders around the world.

Kelli María Korducki

Contributing Writer

Dominic Price

Work Futurist

Dr. Mahreen Khan

Senior Quantitative Researcher, People Insights

Kat Boogaard

Principal Writer

problem solving facilitation techniques

How to manage meetings like an expert facilitator

Bernie Ferguson

A skilled meeting facilitator can get a group to discuss, debate, and, above all,  decide  a lot of stuff in not-a-lot of time. Trouble is, most teams don’t have dedicated program managers or agile coaches to step in and fill that role. So as the modern workplace becomes ever-more collaborative, it’s increasingly important for all team members to know how to run effective meetings .

I’ve been facilitating meetings for years, and I’ve had to grabble with quite a few facilitation questions. What if the pace is too fast, or too slow? Is the agenda pitched at the right level? How will the vibe in the room change if I “double-click” on an uncomfortable truth that surfaces? Will I be able to get the inevitable strong personality in the room to button up and listen to their peers? Sheesh. So many x-factors to keep track of!

The good news is that meeting facilitation is simply a skill you have to practice. To help build your chops and conquer your fears, here are some pointers and pro tips that will help you manage your next meeting with confidence.

Bookmark this post so you can review it quickly the next time you’re about to facilitate a meeting.

1. Understand your role as meeting facilitator

Hint: It’s not about you

Me, I’m a classic “talker”. So standing in front of a group to facilitate a meeting isn’t much of a stretch. (In fact, when I was learning how to manage meetings, the hardest part was getting myself to shut up so the rest of the group could speak.)

Being an effective meeting facilitator while simultaneously being a meeting participant is near impossible – you can’t be emcee and performer at the same time. Embrace the facilitator’s role of managing time, encouraging participation, and asking juicy questions. Let the other people in the group be the stars of the show.

2. Create an interactive agenda

Structure your agenda such that there are opportunities for different people to lead parts of the discussion. This lets you sink into the background, observe the group, and focus on driving the group toward that outcome or decision.

As meeting facilitator, it’s a best practice to send a meeting agenda out to all participants before the meeting so they can come prepared. Many folks here at Atlassian will simply pop the agenda into the meeting’s calendar invite.

3. Establish your meeting’s purpose

Every meeting you facilitate needs to have a clear endpoint: an objective to achieve, or a decision to make. Make sure your agenda covers this so participants know why they’re there, and (importantly) what it would take to finish the meeting early.

It’s worth reiterating the objective at the start of the meeting, too. Heck, you could even write it on the whiteboard to serve as guardrails for the discussion – especially if you’re likely to have detractors in the room. If the conversation heads down a rabbit hole or veers off-course, you can get the group back on track by reminding them of the meeting’s purpose.

4. Close your laptop and open your ears

People are far more engaged in discussions when they’re not firing off an email or checking Facebook. So take a hardline approach and ask for all laptops, tablets, and phones to be turned off. The only exception is the meeting’s scribe, who gets a pass to use their device for taking meeting minutes . Don’t start the meeting until everyone is tuned in and ready to contribute.

A laptops-closed/phones-off policy is critical for sessions that revolve around active listening and flat-out, transparent sharing. Can you imagine someone working up the courage to share a dissenting opinion while their teammates pecked away on email? Not so much. For team  retrospectives  and similar  types of meetings , it’s best if the facilitator takes notes so all participants are fully engaged in the discussion.

If someone insists they need to be working on something else during the meeting, then give them permission to leave the room and go do it. They’ll have an easier time of it and produce better work without the distraction of people talking around them anyway.

5. Make space for everyone to contribute

Sometimes there’s a “celebrity” in the room: a strong personality with strong opinions who is highly respected by other people in the group. They can dominate the discussion (usually without intending to), or even disrupt it by advancing their own agenda.

Give them a pen, and ask them to take charge of capturing ideas on the whiteboard. Not only does this intrinsically task them with listening (i.e., creating space for others to speak), you also avoid the scenario where they sit in the back of the room trashing ideas that diverge from their own. No hecklers, please.

If they’re a strong detractor or feel particularly strongly about the session, you’ll be glad you shared the agenda and purpose in advance and gathered their input before the meeting. Help them walk in ready to make a constructive contribution.

6. Facilitate conversation through questions

Many meetings are essentially problem-solving workshops ( 5 Whys , Experience Canvas , Premortem , Empathy Mapping … If you’ve ever checked out the Atlassian Team Playbook , these are probably familiar!). As the meeting facilitator, it’s not your job to have all the answers. It  is  your job, however, to lead the group to answers. That means posing the right questions at the right time. When done well, pointed questions will challenge assumptions that may be preventing the group from getting to that “ah-ha!” moment.

Be the first to know about new plays.

Even if you think you have The Answer™, resist the temptation to offer it up. Instead, ask leading questions that guide the group to that answer (it’s more meaningful if they arrive at that conclusion themselves). Here are a few of my favorites that you can customise:

  • Can you expand on that point?
  • Is this conversation moving us in the direction we want?
  • Your last point intrigues me, but it feels counterintuitive – in what context could you see that applying?
  • How would you summarise that?
  • What would that look like?
  • How does that make you feel?
  • How would you measure success in that instance?

Of course, asking the right questions requires you to bust out your active listening skills. Give the group space to burn through the ideas that come quickly, and pay attention to what they’re saying so you know which questions can get them to think deeper. But generally stay out of the discussion until it stalls out or starts going in circles.

7. Read the room

Tune into the energy of the room and look for visual cues like body language. Are people fidgeting in frustration? Do looks of discontent or disagreement abound? These are signs you need to intervene. It’s ok to gauge sentiment in the room by simply asking people straight-up: Is this resonating? Do we feel comfortable with the progress we’re making?

Bringing focus to the group’s emotional state helps you understand whether they’re engaged or disconnected. And if the group is disconnected, it’s time for you to jump in and lead them down an alternate path.

Pay especially close attention in meetings that tend to be highly emotional like team health checks , goal-setting workshops , and root-cause analysis sessions

Getting your energetic radar calibrated will take time, and you’ll get it wrong once or twice. Being mindful and observant are the first steps.

8. Create a “parking lot” for good ideas that distract

If an idea pops up that is valuable, but off-point, offer to create a “parking lot” and jot it down (usually on the whiteboard or in the meeting notes) so you can come back to it later. Because right now is all about nailing your objective for this meeting.

Knowing their thoughts aren’t lost forever to the aether helps people return their focus to the outcome you’re striving for.

9. Know your audience

If you’re facilitating a problem-solving meeting or a  retrospective , be on high alert for people who need to be drawn into the discussion. Consider the personality types amongst your attendees, and try to get everyone to contribute to the discussion evenly (more or less). The quiet people in the group might not be shy, per se. In fact, they might have a lot to say, if given the opportunity. It’s your job as the facilitator to carve out space for them to speak.

A veteran facilitator might even observe people as they enter the room, mentally noting who they sit next to or who they avoid. It’s ok to use your judgment and re-arrange chairs (or who sits where) if that’ll help bring out the best in everyone.

Also, understand who has the final say on whatever decisions you’re making, and use them as a tie-breaker if the group can’t reach a consensus. That person can also come in handy when deciding who owns follow-up items.

8. Get moving to keep the energy up

Stand up, congregate around the whiteboard, and bring some dynamic energy to the room. This isn’t the UN General Assembly, after all. (Unless you actually work at the UN. In which case, good on ya.)

One dead-simple facilitation hack I like is having people write their thoughts on sticky notes, then walk up to the front of the room and post them a whiteboard or butcher’s paper. Once everyone is done posting up ideas, take turns coming up front to present those ideas to the group. Works great in problem-solving or brainstorming-flavored meetings like mindmapping  and  premortems .

Incidentally, when paired with coffee, a whiteboard is easily the most innovative tool in the knowledge worker’s tool kit. Seriously!

Running meetings and workshops will be clunky at first, and you’ll make some mistakes. That’s ok! You don’t have to be an ace facilitator to save your team weeks’ worth of time spinning their wheels.

Your skills will improve with practice. So you know what’s next, right? Get out there and start practicing! Browse the brainstorming and problem-solving meeting ideas in the Atlassian Team Playbook – our free, no-BS guide to working better together – and schedule a session with your team.

Browse plays in the Team Playbook

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Agile Heuristics

10 Tips for Facilitating Your Problem-Solving Workshop

A problem-solving workshop is a structured approach to address a particular challenge or issue that a team or organization is facing. The workshop is designed to bring together a diverse group of individuals with different perspectives, skills, and knowledge to collaborate on identifying and solving the problem at hand.

The workshop typically involves a series of activities and exercises designed to help participants understand the problem, generate ideas for potential solutions, and evaluate and prioritise those solutions based on a set of criteria or metrics . Depending on the nature of the problem and the desired outcomes of the workshop, the exercises may include brainstorming sessions, group discussions, role-playing exercises, prototyping, or other activities.

The goal of a problem-solving workshop is to create a collaborative, creative, and open environment where participants feel empowered to share their ideas, challenge assumptions, and work together towards a common goal. By bringing together a diverse group of individuals with different perspectives and expertise, the workshop can tap into a wide range of knowledge and experience, which can lead to more innovative and effective solutions.

The workshop may be facilitated by an internal or external facilitator, who can help to guide the participants through the process and keep them focused on the problem at hand. Depending on the complexity of the problem and the size of the group, the workshop may take anywhere from a few hours to several days to complete.

Our top tips for facilitating a problem solving workshop are:

  • Clearly define the problem: Before starting the workshop, make sure the problem is clearly defined and understood by all participants.
  • Establish ground rule s: Set clear guidelines for how the workshop will be conducted, including rules for respectful communication and decision-making.
  • Encourage diverse perspectives: Encourage participants to share their diverse perspectives and experiences, and consider using techniques such as brainstorming to generate a wide range of ideas.
  • Use a structured process: Utilize a structured problem-solving process, such as the six-step process outlined by the International Association of Facilitators, to guide the workshop.
  • Promote active listening : Encourage participants to actively listen to each other and seek to understand different viewpoints.
  • Encourage collaboration : Foster a collaborative atmosphere by encouraging teamwork and shared ownership of the problem-solving process.
  • Facilitate decision making : Help participants make informed decisions by providing them with the necessary information and resources.
  • Encourage creativity : Encourage participants to think creatively and outside the box to generate new ideas and solutions.
  • Monitor and manage group dynamics : Pay attention to group dynamics and intervene as needed to keep the workshop on track and prevent conflicts.
  • Follow up and review: Follow up on the outcomes of the workshop and review the results to continually improve the problem-solving process.

Here are some exercises that may be more fun and engaging for a problem-solving workshop:

  • Escape room : Create an escape room-style challenge that requires participants to solve a series of problems to escape the room.
  • Treasure hunt: Create a treasure hunt that requires participants to solve clues and riddles to find hidden objects or reach a goal.
  • Charades: Have participants act out different scenarios related to the problem and have the rest of the group guess what they are trying to communicate.
  • Jigsaw puzzles : Use jigsaw puzzles as a metaphor for solving problems and have participants work together to piece the puzzle together.
  • Improv games: Use improv games, such as “Yes, And,” to encourage creativity and build teamwork skills.
  • Scavenger hunt : Create a scavenger hunt that requires participants to solve clues and challenges to find hidden objects or complete tasks.
  • Board games : Use board games that require problem-solving skills, such as escape room-style games or strategy games, to make problem-solving more interactive and fun.
  • Puzzle-based challenges: Create puzzle-based challenges that require participants to solve a series of interconnected problems to reach a goal.
  • Role-playing games : Use role-playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, to encourage creative problem solving and teamwork.
  • Creativity challenges : Use creativity challenges, such as “the Marshmallow Challenge,” to encourage out-of-the-box thinking and teamwork.

In conclusion, a problem-solving workshop can be a powerful tool for teams and organisations looking to tackle complex challenges and drive innovation. By bringing together a diverse group of individuals with different perspectives and expertise, the workshop can create a collaborative, creative, and open environment where participants feel empowered to share their ideas, challenge assumptions, and work towards a common goal.

While the success of a problem-solving workshop depends on many factors, such as the facilitation, the quality of the problem statement, and the engagement of the participants, the potential benefits are significant. By tapping into the collective intelligence of the group, the workshop can generate new ideas, identify blind spots, and build consensus around potential solutions. Moreover, the workshop can help to foster a culture of collaboration, learning, and innovation that can have a lasting impact on the team or organization.

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What is problem-solving and how to do it right steps, processes, exercises.

The better your problem-solving skills are, the better (and easier!) your life will be. Organized problem-solving is a killer career skill - learn all about it here.

Whether we’re trying to solve a technical problem at work, or trying to navigate around a roadblock that Google Maps doesn’t see – most people are problem-solving every single day . 

But how effective are you at tackling the challenges in your life? Do you have a bullet-proof process you follow that ensures solid outcomes, or... Do you act on a whim of inspiration (or lack thereof) to resolve your pressing problems?

Here’s the thing: the better your problem-solving skills are - the better (and easier!) your life will be (both professionally and personally). Organized problem-solving is a killer career (and life!) skill, so if you want to learn how to do it in the most efficient way possible, you’ve come to the right place.  

Read along to learn more about the steps, techniques and exercises of the problem-solving process.

  • 1. Do you want a Career in UX? 
  •  Learn the Principles of UX Design
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What is Problem-Solving?

We’re faced with the reality of having to solve problems every day, both in our private and professional lives. So why do we even need to learn about problem-solving? Aren’t we versed in it well enough already?

Well, what separates problem-solving from dealing with the usual day-to-day issues is that it’s a distinct process that allows you to go beyond the standard approaches to solving a problem and allows you to come up with more effective and efficient solutions. Or in other words, problem-solving allows you to knock out those problems with less effort. 

Just like with any other skill, there’s an efficient way to solve problems, and a non-efficient one. While it might be tempting to go for the quickest fix for your challenge without giving it much thought, it will only end up costing you more time down the road. Quick fixes are rarely (if ever!) effective and end up being massive time wasters. 

What separates problem-solving from dealing with the usual day-to-day issues is that it’s a distinct process that allows you to go beyond the standard approaches to solving a problem and allows you to come up with more effective and efficient solutions.

On the other hand, following a systemized clear process for problem-solving allows you to shortcut inefficiencies and time-wasters, turn your challenges into opportunities, and tackle problems of any scope without the usual stress and hassle. 

What is the process that you need to follow, then? We’re glad you asked...

The Five Stages of Problem-Solving

So what’s the best way to move through the problem-solving process? There’s a 5-step process that you can follow that will allow you to solve your challenges more efficiently and effectively. In short, you need to move through these 5 steps: 

  • Defining a problem
  • Ideating on a solution
  • Committing to a course of action
  • Implementing your solution
  • And finally – analyzing the results. 

The 5 stages of problem-solving

Let’s look at each of those stages in detail.

Step 1: Defining The Problem

The first step might sound obvious, but trust us, you don’t want to skip it! Clearly defining and framing your challenge will help you guide your efforts and make sure you’re focussing on the things that matter, instead of being distracted by a myriad of other options, problems and issues that come up. 

For once, you have to make sure you’re trying to solve the root cause, and not trying to mend the symptoms of it. For instance, if you keep losing users during your app onboarding process, you might jump to the conclusion that you need to tweak the process itself: change the copy, the screens, or the sequence of steps.

But unless you have clear evidence that confirms your hypothesis, your challenge might have an entirely different root cause, e.g. in confusing marketing communication prior to the app download. 

Clearly defining and framing your challenge will help you guide your efforts and make sure you’re focussing on the things that matter, all the while ensuring that you’re trying to solve the root cause, and not trying to mend the symptoms of it

That’s why it’s essential you take a close look at the entire problem, not just at a fraction of it.

There are several exercises that can help you get a broader, more holistic view of the problem, some of our all-time favorites include Expert Interviews, How Might We, or The Map. Check out the step-by-step instructions on how to run them (along with 5 more exercises for framing your challenge!) here. 

When in doubt, map out your challenge, and always try to tackle the bottlenecks that are more upstream - it’s likely that solving them will solve a couple of other challenges down the flow.

You also have to be mindful of how you frame the challenge: resist the urge to include a pre-defined solution into your problem statement. Priming your solutions to a predestined outcome destroys the purpose of following a step-by-step process in the first place!  

Steer clear of formulations like:

We need to change the onboarding process... or We need to improve ad copy to increase conversions. 

Instead, opt for more neutral, problem-oriented statements that don’t include a solution suggestion in them:

The drop off rate during the onboarding process is too high or Our ad conversion rates are below the norm.

Pro tip: Reframing your challenge as a ‘How Might We’ statement is a great way to spark up new ideas, opening your problem to a broader set of solutions, and is just a great way to reframe your problem into a more positive statement (without implying the possible solution!)

For example, following the onboarding drop-off rate problem we mentioned earlier, instead of framing it as a problem, you could opt for:

How Might We decrease the drop-off rate during the onboarding process? 

Find out more about the best exercises for problem framing here!

Now that you have a clear idea of what you’re trying to solve, it’s move on to the next phase of the problem-solving process.

Learn more about facilitation and workshopping in our FREE FACILITATION COMMUNITY

Step 2: ideating a solution.

Get ready to roll up your sleeves and challenge the status quo! This step of the problem-solving process is all about thinking outside of the box, challenging old assumptions, and thinking laterally. 

This stage is the one that tends to cause the most overwhelm in teams because it requires just the right balance of creativity and critical thinking, which tends to cause a lot of friction.

Our best advice?

Let go of the pressure to produce a polished, thought-through solution at this stage. You can hash out the details at a later point. Our goal right now is to come up with a direction, a prototype if you may, of where we want to move towards. 

Embrace the “quantity over quality” motto, and let your creative juices flow! Now, we’re not saying you should roll with sub-par ideas. But you shouldn’t get too fixated on feasibility and viability just yet . 

Your main goal during this step is to spark ideas, kick off your thinking process in the right direction, venture out of the familiar territories and think outside the box. 

For the ideation to be the most effective your team will have to feel safe to challenge the norm and wide-spread assumptions. So lay judgment by side, there is no space for “that’s the way it’s always been done” in this step.

For your ideation sessions to be as efficient as possible, we highly recommend to run them in a workshop setting: this helps reduce the usual drawbacks of open discussions in teams (i.e. groupthink & team politics!)

Our favorite exercises to run during this phase include Lightning Demos, Sketching, and variations of Brainstorming.  We crafted an entire article on how to run and facilitate these exercises in a separate article, so check it out of you’re going to be running an ideation session anytime soon!

Step 3: Choosing the Best Strategy & Committing

It’s time to decide which of the ideas that you generated in the last step will be the one you’ll implement. 

This step is arguably the hardest one to complete smoothly: groupthink, team politics, differences in opinions and communication styles all make it very hard to align a team on a common course of action. 

If you want to avoid the usual pitfalls of team decision-making, we recommend you steer clear of open unstructured discussion. While it’s useful in some scenarios, it’s a poor choice for when you need to make a decision, because it tends to reward the loudest people in the room, rather than give way to the best ideas. 

It’s crucial you not only commit to a course of action but get full buy-in from the team. If your team members don’t understand the reasons for a decision, or are not fully onboard, the implementation of your decision will be half-hearted, and that’s definitely not what you want! 

To achieve that, opt for anonymized, multi-layered voting, and include guided exercises like Storyboarding to prioritize your ideas. 

We’ve gathered the list of our top-rated decision-making exercises, along with step-by-step instructions on how to run them in this article!

As a bonus tip, we recommend you involve a facilitator throughout the entire process. They will help align the team, and guide them through prioritizing and de-prioritizing solutions, as well as defining the next steps. 

Pro tip : If you’re not the ultimate decision maker on the issue you’re trying to solve, make sure they’re in the room when the call is being made! Having a Decider in the room ensures that the decisions you come to will actually get executed on after, instead of getting shut down by your superiors after. 

Join our FREE community and connect with other Facilitators and Workshoppers

Step 4: implementing your solution.

Here’s a truth that might be hard to swallow: it doesn’t matter how innovative, creative, or original your idea is, if your execution is weak. 

One of our favourite illustrations of how this works in practice comes from the book “ Anything you want ” by Derek Sivers. He reveals that ideas should be treated as multipliers of execution. What this means is that a mediocre, “so-so” idea could be worth millions if executed well, while a “brilliant” idea can completely flop with bad execution. 

That’s why this step is crucial if you want to really master the problem-solving process. 

What do we mean by execution? Everything that happens after the whiteboards are wiped clean and your team starts to action the outcomes of your sessions, be it prototyping, development, or promotion. 

But don’t just take our word for it, look at the example of how execution affected Nintendo’s sales:

In the past few years, Nintendo has come up with 3 products: the Wii, the Wii U and the Switch. Check out their sales figures on the graph below - Wii is the clear-cut leader, followed by Switch, and finally Wii U lagging behind.

Nintendo's sales figure for 2018

The Wii was unbelievably successful - it was a genuinely unique, “brilliant”-level idea and it had a “brilliant” execution (20x $10 million = $200 million). It is  one of the fastest selling game consoles of all time and it completely took over the market.

The next product was called Wii U and it was a “great” concept but the execution was absolutely terrible. So even though this product was very interesting and innovative, the end result was 15x $1,000 = $15,000. 

Finally, Nintendo took the Wii U concept and tried it again with the Switch. The idea was “so so” as it was already done before, but the execution was “brilliant”. So, 5x $10 million = $50 million! Much better.

Excellent execution is more important than a good idea.

Bottom line?  

The same idea can either make no dent in the market and damage your share price OR become a market hit and increase your share price dramatically. The only difference between the two scenarios – execution.

So shift your focus from coming up with crazy, innovative, outlandish ideas that will disrupt the market, and concentrate on really nailing down your execution instead. 

This is likely the least “workshoppy” step out of the entire problem-solving process because it requires less alignment and decision-making and more..well.. Execution!

But hey, we wouldn’t be called “Workshopper” if we didn't offer you at least one way to optimize and workshopify (yup, we’re making it a thing) your execution process. 

Cue in….prototyping. 

We’re huge fans of prototyping all big solutions (and testing them!) The main reason?

This saves us time AND money! Prototyping and testing your solutions (especially if they’re time and investment-demanding) is a great way to make sure you’re creating something that is actually needed. 

The key with prototyping the right way is to keep it simple. Don’t invest too much time, or resources into it. The goal is to gather data for your future decisions, not to create a near-to-perfect mockup of your solution.  

There are LOADS of prototyping forms and techniques, and if you’d like to learn more on the subject you should definitely check out our extensive prototyping guide.  

Step 5: Analyzing the Results

You’re nearly done, woo! Now that you have defined the right problem to tackle, brainstormed the solutions, aligned your team on the course of action, and put your plan into action it’s time to take stock of your efforts. 

Seek feedback from all involved parties, analyze the data you’ve gathered, look at the bottom line of your efforts, and  take a hard look at your problem: did it get solved? And even more than that, did the process feel smoother, easier, and more efficient than it normally is?

Running a retrospective is a great way to highlight things that went well and that you should keep for your next round of problem.solving, as well as pinpoint inefficiencies that you can eliminate.

‍ But which kind of retrospective should you run? There are loads of options, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by them all, so we gathered our favorite retrospective variations in this article.

And there you have it, you just completed the cycle of  problem-solving. We highly recommend you follow through with all the steps, without leaving any out. They all complement and build on each other, and it’s the combination of all 5 of them that makes the process effective. 

Now that you have the problem solving process down, you might be wondering…

Do I need any special skills in order to be able to move through that process?

And the answer is… sort of! More in this in the next section.

Problem-Solving Skills 

While your skill set will need to adapt and change based on the challenges you’ll be working on, most efficient problem-solvers have a solid foundation of these key skills:   

  • Active listening. While you might be the expert in the area of your challenge, there’s not a single person on Earth that knows it all! Being open to others’ perspectives and practicing active listening will come in very handy during step 1 of the process, as you’re trying to define the scope and the exact angle of the problem you’re working on.
  • Analytical approach. Your analytical skills will help you understand problems and effectively develop solutions. You will also need analytical skills during research to help distinguish between effective and ineffective solutions.
  • Communication. Is there a single area of expertise that DOESN’T require strong communication skills? We honestly don’t think so! Just like with any other life area, clear communication can make or break your problem-solving process. Being able to clearly communicate why you need to solve this challenge to your team, as well as align your team on the course of action are crucial for the success of the process. 
  • Decision-making. Ultimately, you will need to make a decision about how to solve problems that arise. A process without outcomes–regardless of how well thought-out and elaborate–is useless! If you want your problem-solving huddles to be effective, you have to come to grips with prioritization techniques and decision-making frameworks. 
  • Facilitation. Problem-solving revolves around being able to guide a group or a team to a common decision, and facilitation skills are essential in making that happen. Knowing how to facilitate will make it easy to keep the group focussed on the challenge, shortcut circular discussions, and make sure you’re moving along to solving the problem instead of just treading waters with fruitless discussions. 

Not checking every single skill of your list just yet? Not to worry, the next section will give you practical tools on how to level up and improve your problem-solving skills.

How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills

Just like with any other skill, problem-solving is not an innate talent that you either have or you don’t.  There are concrete steps you can take to improve your skills. 

Here are some things that will get you closer to mastering the problem-solving process:

  • Practice, Practice, Practice

Practice makes perfect, and problem-solving skills are no exception! Seek opportunities to utilize and develop these skills any time you can. 

If you don’t know where or how to start just yet, here’s a suggestion that will get you up and running in no time: run a quick problem-solving session on a challenge that has been bothering your team for a while now. 

It doesn’t need to be the big strategic decision or the issue defining the future of the company. Something easy and manageable (like optimizing office space or improving team communication) will do. 

As you start feeling more comfortable with the problem-solving techniques, you can start tackling bigger challenges. Before you know it, you’ll master the art of creative problem-solving!

  • Use a tried and tested problem-solving workshop

Facilitation is one of the essential skills for problem-solving. But here’s the thing… Facilitation skills on their own won’t lead you to a solved challenge.

While being able to shortcut aimless discussions is a great skill, you have to make sure your problem-solving session has tangible outcomes. Using a tried and tested method, a workshop, is one of the easiest ways to do that. 

Our best advice is to get started with a tried and tested problem-solving workshop like the Lightning Decision Jam . The LDJ has all the right ingredients for quick, effective problem solving that leads to tangible outcomes. Give it a go!

  • Learn from your peers

You may have colleagues who are skilled problem solvers. Observing how those colleagues solve problems can help you improve your own skills. 

If possible, ask one of your more experienced colleagues if you can observe their techniques. Ask them relevant questions and try to apply as many of the new found skills i your career as possible. 

  • Learn & Practice the best problem-solving exercises

Having a toolbox of problem-solving exercises to pull from that can fit any type of challenge will make you a more versatile problem-solver and will make solving challenges that much easier for you! 

Once you get used to the groove of learning how to combine them into effective sessions or workshops, there’ll be no stopping you. What are some of the most effective problem-solving exercises? Glad you asked! We’ve gathered our favorite ones here, check it out! 

And there you have it, you’re now fully equipped for running creative problem-sessions with confidence and ease! Whichever method or exercise you choose, remember to keep track of your wins, and learn as much as you can from your losses! 

Anastasia Ushakova

Brand Strategist, Digital Marketer, and a Workshopper.

problem solving facilitation techniques

When Do You Need a Facilitator?

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problem solving facilitation techniques

The Ultimate Facilitation Glossary: 50 Facilitation Terms You Should Know (From A-Z)

problem solving facilitation techniques

How To Improve Team Collaboration

Team Building World

23 Facilitation Techniques for Team Development

23 Facilitation Techniques for Team Development

Are you looking for some  team facilitation techniques ?

When you conduct team meetings or training sessions often, it’s important to have a good repertoire of techniques. So, you can manage the group well and achieve optimal results.

In this article, let’s see 23 facilitation techniques you can try during staff meetings and training sessions to develop your teams.

What Makes a Good Group Facilitator?

Good facilitators ensure that the participants are engaged and everyone’s voice is heard. To effectively facilitate, you should be skilled in handling group dynamics. You should also have deep knowledge of the subject matter so that you can tackle any questions or doubts from the participants.

Here are some of the best team facilitation techniques you can try.

#1. Clarify Objectives

Before each session, it is recommended to allocate some time to define the group’s goals and make sure everyone has a mutual understanding. This practice will minimize misunderstandings and lack of communication during the session.

#2. Establish Ground Rules

Before any team activities begin, it is important to establish some ground rules that everyone in the group can agree on. For example, keeping conversations respectful and understanding each other’s time constraints. This will promote a safe and productive environment for the group.

#3. Brainstorming

Brainstorming is an effective technique to generate ideas and solutions. Everyone in the group can contribute their thoughts on a certain topic without feeling inhibited.

#4. Fishbowl Technique

The Fishbowl technique is used to explore a topic in more detail. A small group of people will discuss a topic while the rest of the group listens. This encourages different perspectives and deep conversations on the subject.

#5. Incorporate Team Building Activities

Incorporating team building activities into the session has a lot of benefits. They help to foster relationships, promote collaboration, and bring the team closer together. More importantly, these exercises can help you teach the topic to the participants in an interactive manner.

#6. Affinity Diagram

An affinity diagram is a process of organizing ideas and information into groups. Here the participants brainstorm ideas and then categorize them according to their similarities. This helps the group to organize their thoughts and come up with meaningful solutions.

#7. Open-Ended Questions

Open-ended questions can help to spark conversations and encourage people to think deeper about certain topics. These types of questions also allow the facilitator to draw out more meaningful responses from the group.

#8. Active Listening

To successfully facilitate a group, it is important to practice active listening. This means focusing on what each participant is saying without interrupting or taking over the conversation. When each member feels heard, it can help prevent any confusion or miscommunication.

#9. Group Discussion

Group discussion is one of the simplest and most effective team facilitation techniques. This involves having each member take turns to share their ideas and opinions on a particular subject. You can help keep the conversation on track and ensure that everyone has the chance to contribute.

#10. Round Robins

Round robins are another popular facilitation technique for teams. Here the facilitator will ask a question and then each participant takes turns to answer it. This helps each member come up with their own ideas and opinions without worrying about being interrupted or side-tracked.

#11. Concept Mapping

This technique involves creating a diagram or map to visually represent ideas and concepts. This can help group members better understand relationships between different topics and generate new ideas.

For example, a team can write their ideas about a problem on a whiteboard. They can talk about how different ideas are connected. This problem could be something like how to make work better in the company, or even coming up with new ideas for products.

#12. Role Playing

Encourage group members to assume roles or perspectives different from their own, and engage in a discussion regarding a particular issue. This approach can help to generate unique solutions and think creatively.

#13. Consensus Decision Making

The process of consensus decision making allows all group members to have a voice and come to a mutual agreement. This technique ensures that all opinions are valued and considered during the discussion.

#14. Timeboxing

Timeboxing is a technique that assigns time limits to each task or discussion. It can enhance team productivity, maintain focus, and guarantee timely completion of tasks.

#15. Gamification

Gamification is a technique that can be used to motivate and engage team members. It involves using game-like elements such as rewards and points to encourage people to participate and contribute.

For example, a team could create a contest within the group where they compete against each other for points. These points can be used to win rewards or recognition.

#16. Brainwriting

Ask everyone in the group to write down their ideas on paper. Then, they are anonymously shared with the rest of the group. This encourages people to speak up without fear of judgment.

#17. Collaborative Storytelling

Ask the team members to come up with a story that reflects a common challenge or goal. This encourages collaboration and creativity while also reinforcing the message.

#18. Structured Debate

Structured debate is a great way to look at an issue from different perspectives. Ask team members to take opposing sides of an issue and have them discuss the different points of view. This helps to open up conversations and get everyone thinking critically about the task at hand.

#19. Multi-Voting

Ask the team to prioritize solutions by voting on them multiple times. This helps the group identify which items are most important and need to be addressed first.

#20. The Six Thinking Hats

This technique encourages team members to look at an issue from different perspectives.

Each ‘hat’ symbolizes a different type of thinking:

White: Facts and figures

Red: Emotions

Black: Critical Thinking

Yellow: Optimism

Green: Creative Solutions

Blue: Reflection and Overview

#21. Genius Hour

Genius hour is a great way to get team members focused on problem-solving. Give each member some time to work on a problem they have identified. This encourages them to think creatively and come up with unique solutions.

#22. Paired Listening

Ask the group to break up into pairs and take turns listening to each other’s ideas without interruption. This helps ensure everyone feels heard and respected while also generating more ideas for the team.

#23. Dot-Voting

Ask the group to vote on their favorite ideas by placing dots next to them. This helps to quickly identify what the group is leaning towards and encourages people to think outside the box.

Want Some Unique Team Building Activities?

If you want some unique activities for all the team development stages (forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning), you can get my new e-book:

The Busy Leader’s Guide of Unique Team Building Activities: 30 Fully Customizable Exercises That You Can Conduct with Any Group of Employees, Anywhere

Final Words

For building strong teams, you must encourage your staff to collaborate efficiently. So, you need the right techniques to facilitate a team meeting or training session. Hopefully, the above team facilitation techniques can make your job easier.

FAQs: Team Facilitation Techniques

You might have these questions in mind.

What is the purpose of team facilitation techniques?

The purpose of facilitation techniques is to help teams collaborate more effectively and efficiently. They also help to build trust between team members and promote divergent thinking.

What are some good facilitation techniques for group discussion?

Some good facilitation methods for group discussion include brainstorming, paired listening, dot-voting, and genius hour. These techniques encourage divergent thinking and innovative problem solving while also allowing everyone in the group to feel heard and respected.

What are some good facilitation techniques for small groups?

Some good facilitation methods for small groups include open-ended questions, role playing, fishbowl, and round-robin discussions. These methods are designed to ensure everyone in the group is heard and respected while also generating more ideas for the team.

What are some good facilitation techniques for large groups?

Some good facilitation methods for large groups include brainstorming, affinity mapping, and brainwriting. These methods are designed to help everyone in the group work together and come to a consensus more quickly.

What are the main facilitation skills?

The main facilitation skills include active listening, effective communication, conflict resolution, problem solving, decision making, goal setting, and time management.

Like this article on “23 Facilitation Techniques for Team Development”? Feel free to share your thoughts.

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  • Section 4. Techniques for Leading Group Discussions

Chapter 16 Sections

  • Section 1. Conducting Effective Meetings
  • Section 2. Developing Facilitation Skills
  • Section 3. Capturing What People Say: Tips for Recording a Meeting
  • Main Section

What is an effective group discussion?   

___An effective group discussion is one in which the group is able to accomplish its purpose or to establish a basis either for ongoing discussion or for further contact and collaboration among its members.

You understand the elements of an effective group discussion:

___All members of the group have a chance to speak, expressing their own ideas and feelings freely, and to pursue and finish out their thoughts

___All members of the group can hear others’ ideas and feelings stated openly

___Group members can safely test out ideas that are not yet fully formed

___Group members can receive and respond to respectful but honest and constructive feedback

___A variety of points of view are put forward and discussed

___The discussion is not dominated by any one person

___Arguments, while they may be spirited, are based on the content of ideas and opinions, not on personalities

___Even in disagreement, there’s an understanding that the group is working together to resolve a dispute, solve a problem, create a plan, make a decision, find a precept or set of precepts all can agree on, or come to a conclusion

You understand the possible uses for a group discussion:

___Create a new situation – form a coalition, start an initiative, etc.

___Explore cooperative or collaborative arrangements among groups or organizations

___Discuss and/or analyze an issue

___Create a strategic plan – for an initiative, an advocacy campaign, an intervention, etc.

___Discuss policy and policy change

___Air concerns and differences among individuals or groups

___Hold public hearings on proposed laws or regulations, development, etc.

___Decide on an action

___Provide mutual support

___Solve a problem

___Resolve a conflict

___Plan the work or an event

Why would you lead a group discussion?

___A group discussion gives everyone involved a voice

___A group discussion allows for a variety of ideas to be expressed and discussed

___Group discussion is generally a democratic, egalitarian process

___A group discussion leads to group ownership of whatever conclusions, plans, or action the group decides upon

___An effective group discussion encourages those who might normally be reluctant to speak their minds

___Group discussions can often open communication channels among people who might not communicate in any other way

___In some cases, a group discussion is simply the obvious, or even the only, way to proceed

You might lead a group discussion because:

___It’s part of your job

___You’ve been asked to

___A discussion is necessary, and you have the skills to lead it

___It was your idea in the first place

Some people who might find themselves leading a group discussion:

___Directors of organizations

___Public officials

___Coalition coordinators

___Professionals with group-leading skills

___Teachers

___Health professionals and health educators

___Respected community members

___Community activists

When might you lead a group discussion?

___At the start of something new

___When an issue can no longer be ignored

___When groups need to be brought together

___When an existing group is considering its next step or seeking to address an issue of importance to it

How do you lead a group discussion?

___Choose the space

___Provide food and drink

___Bring materials to help the discussion along

___Become familiar with the purpose and content of the discussion

___Make sure everyone gets any necessary information, readings, or other material in plenty of time to study it well beforehand

General guidelines:

___Think about leadership style

___Put people at ease

___Help the group develop ground rules

___Generate an agenda or goals for the discussion

___Lead the discussion

  • Set the topic
  • Foster the open process
  • Involve all participants
  • Ask questions or provide information to move the discussion
  • Summarize and/or clarify important points and conclusions
  • Wrap up the session

___Follow up if necessary.

Do’s for discussion leaders:

___Model the behavior and attitudes you want group members to employ

___Use encouraging body language and tone of voice, as well as words

___Give positive feedback for joining the discussion

___Be aware of people’s reactions and feelings, and try to respond appropriately

___Ask open-ended questions

___Control your own biases

___Encourage disagreement, and help the group use it creatively

___Be a recorder if necessary

___Keep your mouth shut as much as possible

Don’ts for discussion leaders:

___Don’t let one or a small group of individuals dominate the discussion

___Don’t let one point of view override others

___Don’t assume that anyone holds particular opinions or positions because of his culture, background, race, personal style, etc.

___By the same token, don’t assume that someone from a particular culture, race, or background speaks for everyone else from that situation

___Don’t be the font of all wisdom

AI helps boost creativity in the workplace but still can't compete with people's problem-solving skills, study finds

  • Artificial intelligence is disrupting professional workplaces with systems like ChatGPT and Gemini.
  • A study found that people mistrust AI for the wrong reasons while trusting it for tasks where it might mess up.
  • AI boosts performance in creative tasks but performs poorly in problem-solving, the study found.

Insider Today

Artificial intelligence is coming to change your workplace .

The rapidly evolving technology has already started to disrupt day-to-day activities in professional settings, and leaders at the forefront of the AI revolution have been clear about how they hope to implement systems like ChatGPT and Gemini into the mainstream workflow.

But while many employees may be cautiously skeptical about the impending AI overhaul, a recent study found that people are actually mistrustful of artificial intelligence for the wrong reasons while frequently trusting in the technology for tasks it's more likely to mess up.

The September 2023 study, which is titled " How People Can Create—and Destroy—Value with Generative AI ," was spearheaded by François Candelon, the managing director and senior partner at consulting company Boston Consulting Group.

The study's findings are back in the news this week after Candelon sat down with the Wall Street Journal's Executive Insights podcast to discuss generative AI in the workplace.

Candelon partnered with talent from top universities like MIT, Wharton, Harvard Business School, and the University of Warwick, and used his consulting company's own employees to execute the experiment, which he told The Journal was inspired by his desire to figure out how humans and AI can work together to help businesses.

The more than 750 study participants were given real tasks, including "creative product innovation" assignments. The participants were instructed to use OpenAI tool GPT-4 to help them with tasks like pitching the shoe concepts to their boss, coming up with focus group questions, and executing a successful social media rollout, Candelon said.

The study found that people using AI faired much better than those working without it when it came to creative product innovation tasks. About 90% of the participants improved their performance when using AI for any task involving ideation and content creation.

Participants also converged on a performance level that was 40% higher than those working on the same task without GPT-4, according to the study.

The most benefits were seen when people didn't try to change or improve the technology's output suggestions, accepting GPT-4's suggestions as is, the study found.

But there are still some tasks where humans have the edge. People's problem-solving skills far outweigh the help offered by AI, Candelon said.

The study found that generative AI actually persuaded several participants to accept GPT's misleading output, even when they had been briefed on the possibility of wrong answers.

Participants who used AI for problem-solving tasks performed 23% worse than those who didn't use the tool at all, according to the study.

The "double-edged sword" that is generative AI, with its "relatively uniform output," can also reduce a group's diversity of thought by 41%, the study found.

But Candelon stressed to The Journal that AI is exceedingly powerful and, ultimately, unavoidable.

"There is this famous quote saying that humans won't get replaced by AI. They will get replaced by humans using AI," he told the outlet.

Candelon said the study shows that data will become even more important with generative AI in the workplace, forcing people to revisit their workflows and figure out places for human and AI collaboration.

problem solving facilitation techniques

Watch: AI will drive personalization, not creativity, says Roku's VP of growth marketing, Sweta Patel

problem solving facilitation techniques

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  1. 35 problem-solving techniques and methods for solving complex problems

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  3. 6 Problem-Solving Techniques for Facilitation Sessions

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  4. Problem Solving

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    Online Resources. Inclusive Facilitation for Social Change from FSG provides assistance in facilitating inclusive meetings to create effective and empowering experiences for everyone involved.. Making Meetings Work from the Collective Impact Forum is a blog post from Paul Schmitz discussing lessons we can apply to ensure that meetings are purposeful, engaging, and advance our work in ways that ...

  7. How to improve your problem solving skills and strategies

    While facilitation is a set of interrelated skills in itself, the broad definition of facilitation can be invaluable when it comes to problem solving. Leading a team through a problem solving process is made more effective if you improve and utilize facilitation skills - whether you're a manager, team leader or external stakeholder.

  8. How to Facilitate Creative Problem Solving Workshops

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  9. How to Facilitate Conflict Resolution: From Blame to Problem-Solving

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  10. Chapter 16. Group Facilitation and Problem-Solving

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  11. Facilitator's Guide to Effective Solutions

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  12. How to Teach Problem Solving Skills to New Facilitators

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    The problem comes when a facilitator does not step back after the process is underway. If the facilitator always leads, the team may be comfortable continuing to expect them to lead the project execution as well as the problem-solving process. They stay engaged while the facilitator forces them to be engaged. Three Causes of Problems

  14. 16 Facilitation Techniques and Their Benefits

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  15. How to manage meetings like an expert facilitator

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  16. 10 Tips for Facilitating Your Problem-Solving Workshop

    A problem-solving workshop is a structured approach to address a particular challenge or issue that a team or organization is facing. The workshop is designed to bring together a diverse group of individuals with different perspectives, skills, and knowledge to collaborate on identifying and solving the problem at hand. The workshop typically involves a series […]

  17. PDF Facilitating Collaborative Problem Solving

    Problem Solving: A PRIMER GUIDE FACILITATION. 4 INTRODUCTION Effective facilitation is about supporting a productive, ... & Techniques of the Effective Facilitator Adapted from Michael Wilkinson, "The Secrets of Facilitation" (Jossey-Bass, 2004) MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES OF A FACILITATOR

  18. What Is Problem-Solving? Steps, Processes, Exercises to do it Right

    Read along to learn more about the steps, techniques and exercises of the problem-solving process. The Five Stages of Problem-Solving. Step 1: Defining The Problem. Step 2: Ideating a Solution. Step 3: Choosing the Best Strategy & Committing. Step 4: Implementing your solution. Step 5: Analyzing the Results.

  19. What is Problem Solving? Steps, Process & Techniques

    1. Define the problem. Diagnose the situation so that your focus is on the problem, not just its symptoms. Helpful problem-solving techniques include using flowcharts to identify the expected steps of a process and cause-and-effect diagrams to define and analyze root causes.. The sections below help explain key problem-solving steps.

  20. Facilitation Tools: Systematic Problem Solving

    This facilitation tool is for solving big, seemingly intractable problems. Systematic Problem Solving provides a structured approach to identifying and solving a problem. It can be used with many of the previous facilitation tools discussed in this series. The Process. Problem Statement It is important to have the group identify the problem.

  21. 23 Facilitation Techniques for Team Development

    Brainstorming Brainstorming is an effective technique to generate ideas and solutions. Everyone in the group can contribute their thoughts on a certain topic without feeling inhibited. #4. Fishbowl Technique The Fishbowl technique is used to explore a topic in more detail.

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  23. 7 Power Skills That Are in Demand in 2024 and How You Can ...

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  24. Chapter 16. Group Facilitation and Problem-Solving

    You have decided what skills and conditions are necessary for successful facilitation: ___Improved planning ___Sustained member involvement ___Aid in creating leadership opportunities ___Increasing the skills of group members ___Better communication ___Conflict resolution. As a facilitator, you: ___Understand the goals of the meeting and the ...

  25. Chapter 16. Group Facilitation and Problem-Solving

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  26. AI Boosts Creativity, Can't Match People's Problem-Solving Skills: Study

    AI helps boost creativity in the workplace but still can't compete with people's problem-solving skills, study finds. Generative AI is coming to change your workplace. Artificial intelligence is ...