Trust: The Cornerstone of Effective Problem Solving
I'm a terrible sleeper. I always have been and probably always will be. Even after multiple sleep studies, which showed I don't have any physical issues, the doctor's conclusion is that I have a "very active mind which can prevent restful sleep." But, occasionally, having the time and space to think can be beneficial.
Last night, I became fixated on my LinkedIn profile's tagline, "Problem Solver." I thought about the various times throughout my career when I've been relied upon as a problem solver and when I've been completely underutilized.
I joined a project team as a planner/scheduler for a high-profile gene therapy project in the Southeast a few years ago. At the time, it was one of CRB's largest, most complicated, and fastest-paced projects, where CRB would handle the design and construction. During the team's first week, we underwent several "get to know you" exercises to establish a rapport. During one session, I told the team that I love helping people and solving problems. I even joked that I'm like Vanilla Ice because, "If there is a problem, yo, I'll solve it..." Everyone (besides the 23-year-old project engineer) chuckled, but even after several months on the project, no one took me up on my offer. At least, no one on my team did.
One fun and effective aspect of this project was that CRB and the client subscribed to the Big Room concept, which places almost all decision-makers in one common area to increase the speed and effectiveness of communication between multiple parties. Plus, it gives my inner social butterfly an opportunity to chat with people I don't know and get to know them as people. I love hearing people's stories - where they're from, their career background, what they do for fun, what sports team they follow, and so on...
After several weeks of chatting with and getting to know folks on the client side, some of them started asking me to join meetings and help them think through their own schedules. Armed with my master schedule and problem-solving mindset, I easily helped them develop their departments' schedules, key milestones, deliverables, and work priorities by listening, asking questions, and using lots of sticky notes on a whiteboard.
Lying awake last night, I started wondering why the client wanted my help but my own team did not. Then, it hit me - Trust. Even though the CRB team went through several days of "get to know you" exercises, those sessions ended, and most people went back to the "you are just my work colleague" mentality. Contrast that effort with my getting to know our clients, which happened organically and without ulterior motives. The CRB team got to know each other IN ORDER to make us more productive. I got to know our clients because I wanted to get to know them as people. By getting to know my clients and them getting to know the real me without condition or caveat, I had unintentionally made trust the cornerstone of our relationship. Once that honest trust was established through the personal relationships I had built, the work of helping each other and solving problems could begin.
From there, I started realizing the advantages of having a trusted partner as a problem solver. Projects, companies, organizations, teams, and individuals constantly face new challenges and complexities that demand efficient problem-solving. Trust fosters an environment where individuals feel comfortable sharing ideas, collaborating, and seeking guidance, ultimately leading to more effective and sustainable solutions.
Trust promotes open communication and the exchange of new ideas. When team members trust one another, they are more likely to openly discuss the issues at hand and share their unique perspectives without the fear of judgment. This transparency enables teams to assess the situation more accurately and, ultimately, devise more innovative and effective solutions. In a high-trust environment, individuals are also more receptive to constructive feedback, understanding that it is intended to help the team achieve the common goal. As a result, trust accelerates the process of identifying the root cause of a problem and formulating viable strategies to address it.
Trust empowers individuals to take calculated risks and make informed decisions. In a trusting environment, people know their team members have their back and will be accepting of mistakes when an honest effort was made. This confidence allows them to be more proactive and try out new ideas. Trust also encourages accountability, as individuals are more willing to take responsibility for their actions and their impact on the team's overall success.
Trust is the cornerstone of effective problem-solving and is built one relationship at a time. Building and maintaining trust within a team requires effort and cannot be taken for granted, but the benefits of this intention are immense. By investing in relationships and establishing trust ahead of anything else, teams can enhance collaboration, drive innovation, and, ultimately, achieve long-lasting success.
And that's when I heard my toddler yell out that he couldn't find his water bottle in his crib. Fortunately, I found it under his pillow, got him back to sleep, and started my day focusing on building and maintaining trust.
