Creative Problem-Solving Leaders
Problems continually occur at work, at home, and in life in general. My observation is that people don’t like problems, weary of them quickly, and will do almost anything to get away from them. This climate makes others place the reins of leadership into your hands—if you are willing and able to either tackle their problems or train them to solve them. Your problem-solving skills will always be needed because people always have problems and if you are a problem solver you will soon find yourself in a position of leadership.
Problems Give Meaning to Life
A wise philosopher once commented that an eagle’s only obstacle to overcome for flying with speed and ease is the air. Yet, if the air was withdrawn, and the proud bird were flying in a vacuum, it would fall instantly to the ground, unable to fly at all. The very element that offers resistance to flying is at the same time the condition for flight.
Many Great People Had Giant Problems to Overcome
It was David's ability to kill Goliath that revealed his potential to be a great king.
It was the Lion’s den that made Daniel an overcomer.
It was Job's trials that made him a legend.
It was the fiery trials that brought promotion to the three Hebrew children.
Many of the Psalms were born in difficulty.
Most of the Epistles were written in prisons.
These all overcame because they refused to hold on to the common excuses for failure. They trusted God, acted upon His Word and turned their stumbling blocks into stepping stones.
Recognize a Problem Before It Becomes an Emergency
Great leaders usually recognize a problem in the following sequence:
1. They sense it before they see it (intuition) (Proverbs 22:3)
2. They begin looking for it and ask questions (curiosity)
3. They gather data (processing)
4. They share their feelings and findings to a few trusted colleagues (communicating)
5. They define the problem (writing)
6. They check their resources (evaluating)
7. They make a decision (leading)
Great leaders are seldom blind-sided. They realize that the punch that knocks them out is seldom the hard one– it’s the one they didn’t see coming. Leaders should focus on building big people who will handle big issues effectively (Acts 20:32).
The size of the person is more important than the size of the problem.
Solve Task-Problems Quickly; People Problems Will Take Longer
Problems never stop but people can stop problems. There are two things you can do to produce problem-solvers:
1. Make a time commitment to people. Those who never take time to develop people are forced to take time to solve their problems.
2. Never solve a problem for a person; solve it with that person.
When we are able to think right about tough situations, then we become solution oriented rather than problem oriented and our journeys through life become better and better.
The word crisis in the Chinese language is made up of two characters that mean:
Problem
Opportunity
In every problem there is an opportunity. In every opportunity there is a problem. Focusing on the opportunity will help alleviate depression and cause you to realize how creative our God is.
Having this kind of mindset will help you to becoming a long standing, overcoming giant killer!
Yours for the Developing of Big People who can solve Big Problems.
Dr George Hill
Founder/President
