Challenges are opportunities to demonstrate your leadership.
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Every organization has challenges. Challenges that arise cross-company can be particularly thorny. Cross-company challenges require you to work with people from numerous departments.
When you suspect that an issue you have come across or foresee is bigger than your function or team to resolve, take advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate your leadership. Here are five steps that can help you solve and lead on thorny issues that have cross-functional impact at work:
1. Understand the information that you have in front of you.
Read and digest the information you have. Before you do anything else, you need to have a solid grasp of what you have in front of you. Identify what you think the issue is. You want to approach thorny issues methodically and not move ahead haphazardly.
2. Identify the gaps.
In comprehending the information you have, identify areas where you still need more information. Take note if you find yourself asking questions like, “Where is this information?,” “What does this mean?,” “Why is this?” or “How did this happen?” Be cognizant of comments to yourself like, “This doesn’t make sense.”
Recognize and appreciate the ambiguity and complexity of the situation so that your next steps are thoughtful and meaningful.
3. Reach out to other people, and ask questions.
After you have a good grasp on the issue as you understand it, start reaching out to stakeholders. Ask yourself, “Who in the organization might have this information?” “What person could share insights?” Email a colleague briefly mentioning that you are looking into an organizational issue and think their insights would be helpful.
4. Synthesize the information, and develop a plan.
The next step is to pull together all the information you have gleaned thus far. Start a Word document, for example, to organize the information and facts that you have received in a way that makes sense to you. Think critically about and analyze the information. What is the issue? What is being done about the issue? Is this business as usual? Is this the way things have always been done? What is a better way of doing things? Who should be working on this?
Once you have visualized the information and thought about it, delineate and write down the issue. Then briefly write about the situation, providing some context around the issue. Finally, document recommendations to resolve the issue, and prioritize the recommendations. Provide the reader the framework and rationale for each solution. Data-driven recommendations will allow you to provide insightful and compelling solutions to stakeholders.
5. Present your plan to others.
Once you have developed a written plan, take the initiative to schedule a meeting with stakeholders. Present your findings. Encourage attendees to share their thoughts.
Your goal is to operationalize your recommendations. You want stakeholders to believe that your recommendations are a solution and that they can play a role in helping to implement the solution. You want the key players to come away being excited about the recommendation and believe that the solution is doable.
Solving thorny, cross-company issues requires an awareness to seek the information you don’t know and put together the puzzle. Understand the information you have, reach out to others to enhance your understanding of the issue, put together a plan and then present the plan.
How do you approach complex issues at work? Share with me your stories and thoughts via Twitter or LinkedIn.
