We often face some problems in our life that need our utmost attention and problem-solving abilities to get out of them victoriously. Problem-solving is a skill that not many people have, but everyone needs. We need this skill in our daily lives, especially when we are in an office setting, because we have to come off as professionals and need to put the best foot forward.
Not only in offices, but we might also come across problems in our personal lives as well, and these problems are mostly more emotionally draining and really put us on edge. Some issues take away our ability to think, and we are left with worries and problems piling up in our lives which is definitely not an ideal thing to do and might have a long-term effect on our lives.
To tackle and overcome the problems, we need to incorporate some problem-solving skills and characteristics of a good problem solver, including the ability to combine logic and intuition to overcome the problem and derive the solution. Intuition deals with our emotional aspects, while logic directly hits our thinking and understanding.
A good problem solver will integrate both of these skills and come up with a proper solution. If you want to develop problem-solving skills, then here are some characteristics of a good problem solver.
A Good Problem Solver Doesn’t Panic
You can simply not function if you have a habit of panicking at every little thing. An excellent problem solver will be calm and patient towards finding the solution, no matter how overwhelmed he is by the problem.
He/she will maintain professionalism and not add to the problem by making an unnecessary fuss about it. They will never make things difficult for themselves and other relevant stakeholders.
They Try to Find the Main Reason for the Problem
A good problem solver will never shoot their shot in the dark, and they will properly dig deeper about the main issue that caused the problem and then try to solve it. They know that they have to solve the root cause, or else the problem might return.
They are not ignorant and lazy when looking for the reason why something happened, and they will end up making things right with their smart approach.
They Have an Optimistic Attitude
A good problem solver will never have a negative attitude, and they look at problems as an opportunity to grow and become a better person. They will be positive about solving the problem, and they are confident they will end up solving the problem.
They Follow DACR/S as their Primary Approach
One of the most used models for problem-solving is DACR/S. These are not just letters but a proper approach to solving a problem. D=Describe, A=Analyse, C=Conclude, R=Recommend, and S=Solve. This model requires a step-by-step approach, and a good problem solver will take the opportunity of using this model quite literally to overcome the problem.
They begin by describing the problem and then move on to analysing the cause of it happening. They analyse all the possibilities that could have caused the problem. They then conclude the issue; in conclusion, they explain why the problem originated and then recommended solutions for it, keeping the conclusion in mind. The last part is solving the issue; they apply the recommended solutions and solve the problem.
They Accept Being Wrong and Learn from Their Mistakes
An ideal problem solver will accept their wrong if that is the case and decide to learn from their mistakes to avoid being wrong in the future.
They are not stuck up on why something happened, rather they focus on overcoming it. They will incorporate their learning in any future issues that might occur and make sure not to make the same mistakes again.
They will work on themselves and will not be bumped out about being wrong the first time. As mentioned above, they will look at the problems as an opportunity to learn.
