Developing the Leader Within You - Problem Solving : Part 2

We will continue our leadership journey, learning new skills and refreshing old ones, with John C. Maxwell's book Developing the Leader Within You.

The size of the person is more important than the size of the problem.

This chapter of Maxwell's book deals with the two things needed to effectively solve problems: the right attitude and the right action plan.

Last time, we ended with five of Maxwell's observations regarding problem-solving. Today, we will review five more:

• A test of a leader is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
  • Under excellent leadership a problem seldom reaches gigantic proportions because it is recognized and fixed in its early stages.
  • Great leaders usually recognize a problem in the following sequence:
  1. They sense it before they see it (intuition).
  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 good decision (leading).
  • Great leaders are seldom blind-sided.
• You can judge leaders by the size of the problem they tackle.
  • The size of the person is more important than the size of the problem.
  • Problems look larger or smaller according to  whether the person is small or large.
  • Our focus as a leader should be to build big people. Big people will handle big issues effectively.
• Solve task-problems quickly; people-problems will take longer.
  • Problems never stop but people can stop problems. 
  • Suggestions for producing "problem-solvers:"
  1. Make a 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.
  • Take that individual through the sequence that has already been given for recognizing a problem.
  • Climbing the ladder of leadership means that fewer but more important decisions will be made.
  • The problem-solving skills of a leader must be sharpened because every decision becomes a major decision.
• The right attitude.
• Norman Vincent Peale was right when he said that positive thinking is how you think about a problem. Enthusiasm is how you feel about a problem. The two together determine what you do about a problem.
• If I could so anything for people, I would help them change their perspectives, not their problems.
• Positive thinking does not always change our circumstances, but it will always change us.
• The right action plan
• Some people assume that a defect-free system can be developed for their lives.
• Some people assume that something will do wrong and they need a backup system.
• Too many times when a problem arises, we want to blame someone else and take the easy way out.
• So .....

So, ... next time, we will learn about "The problem-Solving Process."

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc