Problem Strategies

Kiersten Umberger

July 28, 2018

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Dealing with the unknown is scary for anyone but especially for someone who si

responsible for a group of others. . Problems occur typically unexpected and a leader has to be

ready to face a variety of issues, even ones that they do not see coming and have no plan for. We

must be able to backtrack when we are faced with an issue, we must gain an understanding of the

problem so we can properly assess for a solution.“Common experience tells us that we can’t find

answers until we properly understand the question” (Managing Project Uncertainty, pg. 42). If I

have an unhappy customer at my place of work I cannot solve their issue until I know what they

are upset about. Finding a way to deal with uncertainty whether it be suppression, adaptation,

detours, or reorienting, is key.

I believe that my biggest take away is that I strive for the adaptation strategy when faced

with uncertainty. In my own leadership life at work I am faced with surprises daily. This is

something I expect to happen working as a supervisor at a Starbucks, things are always changing

and many people come in and out of the stores daily. I strongly believe that the most important

thing is keeping my team and myself on track with the goals of the company. I handle all

unexpected issues with humanity at my core as the company would expect, as written in their

mission and values. I often have to make quick decisions being that Starbucks is usually very fast

paced environment. We have to be able to see an issue, understand the cause, and solve it as

quickly as possible and the get right back on track. Many companies have an unexpected issue

and all of their productivity falls behind and gets off track. It is important to solve these issues

quickly and efficiently and then get straight back into whatever goal your team was working on.

One thing I was unaware of prior to this reading was faulty pattern recognition. I am

always looking for similarities in new problems that relate to previous problems I have had. This

is the easiest way for me to attempt at coming up with a solution. It has worked many times
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before but as I progress as a leader there are some things I have learned to be wary about when

doing this. There is a chance that I could jump the gun when seeing a few similarities in two

completely different problems. I may end up making something worse with an incorrect solution

just because there are a few similarities. I need to be aware of the significant differences as well

as the similarities (Managing Project Uncertainty, pg. 43). This could also be something like deja

vu where the similarities remind me of something I have faced before (Managing Project

Uncertainty, pg. 46).

Another good point was to evaluate all of the possible outcomes of a problem/solution

rather than just something I have used to work in the past. “Once the possible outcomes have

been evaluated as objectively as possible, selecting the maximum value outcome is

straightforward (Managing Project Uncertainty, pg. 53). This basically means that it will be

much easier to select the best solution for an uncertain problem if I have really dug deep into my

analyzing of the problem. I often worry that I am not making the best choice when faced with

problems so this will be quite helpful in making the most valuable choice. The next step after all

of this analyzing of problems and choosing a solution will be to determine and predict how it

will end up, or the outcome.

In many of my classes we are to make a personal project planner for our assignments. We

write out each assignment listed on our syllabus, when they are due, how long they will take, and

the steps it will take to complete them. One thing we have to plan time for is the unexpected or

contingencies. This plan helps keep us on track with our goals and also gives a vision of the end

line and how to get there, this is very similar to the forecasting model (Managing Project

Uncertainty, pg. 58).

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This is all very crucial to the success of a project of any kind yet very difficult for many

project managers, 59% of middle managers fail at resolving conflicts in corporate strategy

(Strategy Execution Gaps, 2017, para. 1). According to Todd Williams in this article, many

group projects fail due to poor change management, and goal-project misalignment. This means

that leaders and managers are not adjusting to changes very well, or uncertainty even, and thus

neither are their teams. This also means that the goals that were originally created are not being

administered throughout the project. As I mentioned earlier it is crucial to success to keep the

team on track with the goals that have been placed, even in the face of uncertainty. “Once the

problem is seen, whether the breakdown is with executives or middle managers, little is done

about it” (Strategy Execution Gaps, 2017, para. 5). As mentioned before it is crucial to analyze a

problem for what it truly is. You need to figure out the problem in order to figure out the best

solution. Doing nothing will not get a team to the finish line. The goal should always be kept in

mind when dealing with uncertainties otherwise the project will not end up being a success.

Sources

CLEDEN, D. (2017). MANAGING PROJECT UNCERTAINTY. S.l.: ROUTLEDGE

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Williams, T. C. (n.d.). Strategy-Execution Gaps. Retrieved April 09, 2018, from

https://ecaminc.com/index.php/blog/item/464-strategy-execution-gaps