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Problem-solving Skills

More often than not, the problem-solving style you adopt will depend, at least in part, on your problem-solving skills. In other words, you'll tend to favor the type of approach you're best equipped to use. There are three main types of problem-solving skills:

• An analytical approach to problem solving is rational, linear, and logical. It involves addressing a problem by assessing hard data and asking questions. Critical thinking is the main skill required for this approach.
• A creative approach to problem solving focuses on the creation of unusual ideas and solutions that are unique to specific problems. The starting point for creative problem solving is realizing that the possibility of a novel or atypical solution exists.
• A practical approach to problem solving involves relying on your experience and intuition to solve problems as they arise. It requires a willingness to tackle existing difficulties, to use trial and error when necessary, and to not over-react emotionally to problems. Practical problem-solving skills don't depend on your level of education or require a lot of functional analysis or critical thinking. Instead they rely on experience and adaptability.

Analytical and creative skills are those that can be specifically developed. However, all three types of skills are important in problem-solving situations. Just as there are many types of problems, there can be many possible solutions to a single problem. These can evolve from analytical, creative, and practical approaches.

Being able to use your skills effectively to solve problems doesn't assist you only in overcoming obstacles or reaching goals. It also has emotional benefits. It can build your self-confidence and satisfaction in the work you do. In turn, this can make you an even better and more flexible problem solver.

It's important to be aware of the problem-solving skills you have and those you don't. Knowing what your weak areas are is useful when you're trying to develop your skills.

Improving analytical skills

To improve your analytical skills, you need to enhance your critical thinking. Critical thinking involves asking as many questions as possible to analyze all the possible solutions to a problem. Simply making critical thinking a habit can improve your ability to be analytical. Your education may also have given you a strong foundation for critical thinking.

Analytical thinking is used throughout the six-step problem-solving process. The key aspects of problem solving that are affected by your ability to think critically include problem formulation, the assessment of proposed solutions, and solution implementation:

• problem formulation – It's common to mistake the symptoms of problems for problems themselves. It takes critical thinking to identify what a problem really is and to uncover its root causes.
• proposed solutions – Once you're familiar with the nature of a problem, you need to think critically to formulate possible solutions – and to analyze each of these.
• solution implementation – When you've decided which solution is best for solving a problem, you need to put it into practice. To evaluate the success of a solution, you can ask questions such as "Is the solution having satisfactory effects?"

Three main strategies – or types of exercises – can help you develop your critical thinking skills:

• Text analysis can involve identifying specific issues or points of interest in text, explaining their significance and your thoughts surrounding them, and identifying how the points are related.
• Socratic thinking refers to the disciplined use of questioning to explore complex issues, concepts, theories, or problems.
• Critical thinking exercises such as questions and puzzles promote creative and critical thinking.

Improving creative skills

You can also use specific strategies to improve your creative problem-solving skills. The first of these involves allowing for the saturation, incubation, and illumination of ideas:

• saturation – To think creatively, you need to tap into the knowledge you've accumulated over many years. If you restrict yourself to thinking logically and rationally, this could stifle your ability to think creatively. Your aim at this stage is to saturate your mind with all sorts of information about the problem.
• incubation – This relies on your stepping back from a problem and allowing your mind to focus on something else. Temporarily stepping away from a problem can allow the creative part of your brain to continue working on it.
• illumination – This refers to the "Eureka!" moment when a creative solution first occurs to you. Often this occurs while you're engaged in something totally unrelated to the problem. Once you've uncovered creative ideas for approaching a problem, you need to determine whether they're realistic and appropriate.

A second strategy for improving your creative thinking is to practice thinking "outside the box." It involves challenging or overcoming the conventional ways in which you think, because these limit your ability to approach problems creatively.

Lateral-thinking exercises can also encourage creative thinking. You can also improve your creative skills by using existing ideas for alternative purposes – building on or adapting them in creative ways. A final strategy for honing your creative skills is to incorporate more randomness in your thinking.

Although it's always good to acquire new problem-solving skills, it's also important to refine the skills you already have. You can work on developing and sharpening these skills both individually and collectively within your organization.

Different problem-solving styles depend on different problem-solving skills, including analytical, creative, and practical skills. Analytical skills encompass logic, reason, and abstract thinking, whereas creative skills relate to the ability to devise innovative solutions. Practical skills are those used when solving situational problems using your experience and intuition. To improve analytical skills, get into the habit of asking questions to analyze your problems and solutions. Also engage in text analysis, Socratic thinking, and critical thinking exercises. Creative thinking can be enhanced by allowing for the saturation, incubation, and illumination of ideas; thinking outside the box; using existing ideas for alternative purposes; and incorporating randomness into your thinking about a problem.