Are You Choosing Your Problems?

Photo by Kyle Johnston

Good News & Bad News

You have problems.

You are going to have more problems.

Solving today's problems allows you to tackle a whole new set of problems tomorrow.

Problems & Leadership

Problems, challenges, difficulties, struggles - whatever you call them, problems are not unique to leaders. Problems are part of living. If you are alive, you will have problems.

Leaders just choose a particular set of problems.

Choose Your Problems

You do not get to choose IF you will have problems.

But often, you do get to choose WHICH set of problems you will have.

Effective leaders don't spend time trying to avoid problems. Rather, they put their energy into working on the right set of problems. 

Which set of problems are the right ones? That depends on your values, vision, and goals. What are you trying to do? Which set of problems, once solved, will get you closer to where you want to be?

How It Works

Here's a sample we're all familiar with: We can choose a set of problems related to exercise - finding time, dealing with discomfort, etc. Or we can choose a set of problems related to carrying extra pounds and lack of strength.

Now for a leadership example: You have a team member who consistently under-performs and others team members are carrying extra responsibility. 

You've got a choice of problems: You can choose problems related to ignoring the situation - your team is stressed, the individual never improves their abilities, and your leadership credibility declines. 

Or you can choose problems related to addressing the situation - learning how to have performance conversations, being disliked or misjudged, and the discomfort of confrontation.

Each set of problems leads to different outcomes. Which do you want?

Freedom

There is great freedom when you realize that problems are unavoidable and begin choosing which ones you will have. No longer is your energy wasted in the hopeless effort of avoidance.

You will even find yourself energized as you live in alignment with your own values, vision, and goals.

Read More:

The Only Way Out
Lead from the In-Between
One Word to Freedom
Book Review: The Oz Principle
Book Review: The Question Behind the Question

Take care,

David M. Dye

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David shares twenty years experience teaching, coaching, leading, and managing in youth service, education advocacy, city governance, and faith-based nonprofits. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado UpLift and enjoys helping others discover and realize their own potential.

Which Problems Do I Want?

Recently, I spoke with the leader of a nonprofit organization who was wrestling with a decision involving one of three difficult choices. He had postponed the decision for an entire year while searching for a problem-free solution. I believe his search was hopeless.

Most of us fall into this trap at some point because we haven't acknowledged an important truth: we are going to have problems. Often our choice is simply this: which set of problems do I want?

We are all familiar with this dynamic. Do we want the inconvenience of regular tooth-brushing, flossing, and dental visits or do we want the inconvenience of tooth decay? We will have inconvenience either way, but we do have a choice about which one we experience.

Leaders and managers frequently face similar situations. Do we want the discomfort of learning how to address poor performance or do we want the discomfort of a team with poor morale and worse results? Do we prefer the pain of shifting strategies or the pain of discovering our team is no longer relevant? Do we risk vulnerability and apologize for mistakes or do we avoid taking blame and risk discrediting ourselves?

When we accept that life is difficult and we will have challenges, we are freed from the search for a mythical problem-free solution. We are free to focus on meaningful decisions.

Then, we can truly begin to lead.

David M. Dye

Subscribe today or join the discussion at: http://davidmdye.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @davidmdye
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-dye/b/a08/82
****
David shares twenty years experience teaching, coaching, leading, and managing in youth service, education advocacy, city governance, and faith-based nonprofits. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado UpLift and enjoys helping others discover and realize their own potential.