Introduction to Problem Solving Skills

What is problem solving and why is it important.

Defining problem solving skills

The ability to solve problems is a basic life skill and is essential to our day-to-day lives, at home, at school, and at work. We solve problems every day without really thinking about how we solve them. For example: it’s raining and you need to go to the store. What do you do? There are lots of possible solutions. Take your umbrella and walk. If you don't want to get wet, you can drive, or take the bus. You might decide to call a friend for a ride, or you might decide to go to the store another day. There is no right way to solve this problem and different people will solve it differently.

Problem solving is the process of identifying a problem, developing possible solution paths, and taking the appropriate course of action.

Why is problem solving important? Good problem solving skills empower you not only in your personal life but are critical in your professional life. In the current fast-changing global economy, employers often identify everyday problem solving as crucial to the success of their organizations. For employees, problem solving can be used to develop practical and creative solutions, and to show independence and initiative to employers.

Throughout this case study you will be asked to jot down your thoughts in idea logs. These idea logs are used for reflection on concepts and for answering short questions. When you click on the "Next" button, your responses will be saved for that page. If you happen to close the webpage, you will lose your work on the page you were on, but previous pages will be saved. At the end of the case study, click on the "Finish and Export to PDF" button to acknowledge completion of the case study and receive a PDF document of your idea logs.

What Does Problem Solving Look Like?

IDEAL heuristic strategy for problem solving

The ability to solve problems is a skill, and just like any other skill, the more you practice, the better you get. So how exactly do you practice problem solving? Learning about different problem solving strategies and when to use them will give you a good start. Problem solving is a process. Most strategies provide steps that help you identify the problem and choose the best solution. There are two basic types of strategies: algorithmic and heuristic.

Algorithmic strategies are traditional step-by-step guides to solving problems. They are great for solving math problems (in algebra: multiply and divide, then add or subtract) or for helping us remember the correct order of things (a mnemonic such as “Spring Forward, Fall Back” to remember which way the clock changes for daylight saving time, or “Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey” to remember what direction to turn bolts and screws). Algorithms are best when there is a single path to the correct solution.

But what do you do when there is no single solution for your problem? Heuristic methods are general guides used to identify possible solutions. A popular one that is easy to remember is IDEAL [ Bransford & Stein, 1993 ] :

  • I dentify the problem
  • D efine the context of the problem
  • E xplore possible strategies
  • A ct on best solution

IDEAL is just one problem solving strategy. Building a toolbox of problem solving strategies will improve your problem solving skills. With practice, you will be able to recognize and use multiple strategies to solve complex problems.

Watch the video

What is the best way to get a peanut out of a tube that cannot be moved? Watch a chimpanzee solve this problem in the video below [ Geert Stienissen, 2010 ].

[PDF transcript]

Describe the series of steps you think the chimpanzee used to solve this problem.

  • [Page 2: What does Problem Solving Look Like?] Describe the series of steps you think the chimpanzee used to solve this problem.

Think of an everyday problem you've encountered recently and describe your steps for solving it.

  • [Page 2: What does Problem Solving Look Like?] Think of an everyday problem you've encountered recently and describe your steps for solving it.

Developing Problem Solving Processes

Problem solving is a process that uses steps to solve problems. But what does that really mean? Let's break it down and start building our toolbox of problem solving strategies.

What is the first step of solving any problem? The first step is to recognize that there is a problem and identify the right cause of the problem. This may sound obvious, but similar problems can arise from different events, and the real issue may not always be apparent. To really solve the problem, it's important to find out what started it all. This is called identifying the root cause .

Example: You and your classmates have been working long hours on a project in the school's workshop. The next afternoon, you try to use your student ID card to access the workshop, but discover that your magnetic strip has been demagnetized. Since the card was a couple of years old, you chalk it up to wear and tear and get a new ID card. Later that same week you learn that several of your classmates had the same problem! After a little investigation, you discover that a strong magnet was stored underneath a workbench in the workshop. The magnet was the root cause of the demagnetized student ID cards.

The best way to identify the root cause of the problem is to ask questions and gather information. If you have a vague problem, investigating facts is more productive than guessing a solution. Ask yourself questions about the problem. What do you know about the problem? What do you not know? When was the last time it worked correctly? What has changed since then? Can you diagram the process into separate steps? Where in the process is the problem occurring? Be curious, ask questions, gather facts, and make logical deductions rather than assumptions.

Watch Adam Savage from Mythbusters, describe his problem solving process [ ForaTv, 2010 ]. As you watch this section of the video, try to identify the questions he asks and the different strategies he uses.

Adam Savage shared many of his problem solving processes. List the ones you think are the five most important. Your list may be different from other people in your class—that's ok!

  • [Page 3: Developing Problem Solving Processes] Adam Savage shared many of his problem solving processes. List the ones you think are the five most important.

“The ability to ask the right question is more than half the battle of finding the answer.” — Thomas J. Watson , founder of IBM

Voices From the Field: Solving Problems

In manufacturing facilities and machine shops, everyone on the floor is expected to know how to identify problems and find solutions. Today's employers look for the following skills in new employees: to analyze a problem logically, formulate a solution, and effectively communicate with others.

In this video, industry professionals share their own problem solving processes, the problem solving expectations of their employees, and an example of how a problem was solved.

Meet the Partners:

  • Taconic High School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is a comprehensive, fully accredited high school with special programs in Health Technology, Manufacturing Technology, and Work-Based Learning.
  • Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, prepares its students with applied manufacturing technical skills, providing hands-on experience at industrial laboratories and manufacturing facilities, and instructing them in current technologies.
  • H.C. Starck in Newton, Massachusetts, specializes in processing and manufacturing technology metals, such as tungsten, niobium, and tantalum. In almost 100 years of experience, they hold over 900 patents, and continue to innovate and develop new products.
  • Nypro Healthcare in Devens, Massachusetts, specializes in precision injection-molded healthcare products. They are committed to good manufacturing processes including lean manufacturing and process validation.

Making Decisions

Now that you have a couple problem solving strategies in your toolbox, let's practice. In this exercise, you are given a scenario and you will be asked to decide what steps you would take to identify and solve the problem.

Scenario: You are a new employee and have just finished your training. As your first project, you have been assigned the milling of several additional components for a regular customer. Together, you and your trainer, Bill, set up for the first run. Checking your paperwork, you gather the tools and materials on the list. As you are mounting the materials on the table, you notice that you didn't grab everything and hurriedly grab a few more items from one of the bins. Once the material is secured on the CNC table, you load tools into the tool carousel in the order listed on the tool list and set the fixture offsets.

Bill tells you that since this is a rerun of a job several weeks ago, the CAD/CAM model has already been converted to CNC G-code. Bill helps you download the code to the CNC machine. He gives you the go-ahead and leaves to check on another employee. You decide to start your first run.

What problems did you observe in the video?

  • [Page 5: Making Decisions] What problems did you observe in the video?
  • What do you do next?
  • Try to fix it yourself.
  • Ask your trainer for help.

As you are cleaning up, you think about what happened and wonder why it happened. You try to create a mental picture of what happened. You are not exactly sure what the end mill hit, but it looked like it might have hit the dowel pin. You wonder if you grabbed the correct dowel pins from the bins earlier.

You can think of two possible next steps. You can recheck the dowel pin length to make sure it is the correct length, or do a dry run using the CNC single step or single block function with the spindle empty to determine what actually happened.

screenshot of cnc problem

  • Check the dowel pins.
  • Use the single step/single block function to determine what happened.

You notice that your trainer, Bill, is still on the floor and decide to ask him for help. You describe the problem to him. Bill asks if you know what the end mill ran into. You explain that you are not sure but you think it was the dowel pin. Bill reminds you that it is important to understand what happened so you can fix the correct problem. He suggests that you start all over again and begin with a dry run using the single step/single block function, with the spindle empty, to determine what it hit. Or, since it happened at the end, he mentions that you can also check the G-code to make sure the Z-axis is raised before returning to the home position.

ask help from a more experienced person

  • Run the single step/single block function.
  • Edit the G-code to raise the Z-axis.

You finish cleaning up and check the CNC for any damage. Luckily, everything looks good. You check your paperwork and gather the components and materials again. You look at the dowel pins you used earlier, and discover that they are not the right length. As you go to grab the correct dowel pins, you have to search though several bins. For the first time, you are aware of the mess - it looks like the dowel pins and other items have not been put into the correctly labeled bins. You spend 30 minutes straightening up the bins and looking for the correct dowel pins.

Finally finding them, you finish setting up. You load tools into the tool carousel in the order listed on the tool list and set the fixture offsets. Just to make sure, you use the CNC single step/single block function, to do a dry run of the part. Everything looks good! You are ready to create your first part. The first component is done, and, as you admire your success, you notice that the part feels hotter than it should.

You wonder why? You go over the steps of the process to mentally figure out what could be causing the residual heat. You wonder if there is a problem with the CNC's coolant system or if the problem is in the G-code.

  • Look at the G-code.

After thinking about the problem, you decide that maybe there's something wrong with the setup. First, you clean up the damaged materials and remove the broken tool. You check the CNC machine carefully for any damage. Luckily, everything looks good. It is time to start over again from the beginning.

You again check your paperwork and gather the tools and materials on the setup sheet. After securing the new materials, you use the CNC single step/single block function with the spindle empty, to do a dry run of the part. You watch carefully to see if you can figure out what happened. It looks to you like the spindle barely misses hitting the dowel pin. You determine that the end mill was broken when it hit the dowel pin while returning to the start position.

idea at cnc machine

After conducting a dry run using the single step/single block function, you determine that the end mill was damaged when it hit the dowel pin on its return to the home position. You discuss your options with Bill. Together, you decide the best thing to do would be to edit the G-code and raise the Z-axis before returning to home. You open the CNC control program and edit the G-code. Just to make sure, you use the CNC single step/single block function, to do another dry run of the part. You are ready to create your first part. It works. You first part is completed. Only four more to go.

software or hardware problem

As you are cleaning up, you notice that the components are hotter than you expect and the end mill looks more worn than it should be. It dawns on you that while you were milling the component, the coolant didn't turn on. You wonder if it is a software problem in the G-code or hardware problem with the CNC machine.

It's the end of the day and you decide to finish the rest of the components in the morning.

  • You decide to look at the G-code in the morning.
  • You leave a note on the machine, just in case.

You decide that the best thing to do would be to edit the G-code and raise the Z-axis of the spindle before it returns to home. You open the CNC control program and edit the G-code.

While editing the G-code to raise the Z-axis, you notice that the coolant is turned off at the beginning of the code and at the end of the code. The coolant command error caught your attention because your coworker, Mark, mentioned having a similar issue during lunch. You change the coolant command to turn the mist on.

  • You decide to talk with your supervisor.
  • You discuss what happened with a coworker over lunch.

As you reflect on the residual heat problem, you think about the machining process and the factors that could have caused the issue. You try to think of anything and everything that could be causing the issue. Are you using the correct tool for the specified material? Are you using the specified material? Is it running at the correct speed? Is there enough coolant? Are there chips getting in the way?

Wait, was the coolant turned on? As you replay what happened in your mind, you wonder why the coolant wasn't turned on. You decide to look at the G-code to find out what is going on.

From the milling machine computer, you open the CNC G-code. You notice that there are no coolant commands. You add them in and on the next run, the coolant mist turns on and the residual heat issues is gone. Now, its on to creating the rest of the parts.

Have you ever used brainstorming to solve a problem? Chances are, you've probably have, even if you didn't realize it.

You notice that your trainer, Bill, is on the floor and decide to ask him for help. You describe the problem with the end mill breaking, and how you discovered that items are not being returned to the correctly labeled bins. You think this caused you to grab the incorrect length dowel pins on your first run. You have sorted the bins and hope that the mess problem is fixed. You then go on to tell Bill about the residual heat issue with the completed part.

Together, you go to the milling machine. Bill shows you how to check the oil and coolant levels. Everything looks good at the machine level. Next, on the CNC computer, you open the CNC G-code. While looking at the code, Bill points out that there are no coolant commands. Bill adds them in and when you rerun the program, it works.

Bill is glad you mentioned the problem to him. You are the third worker to mention G-code issues over the last week. You noticed the coolant problems in your G-code, John noticed a Z-axis issue in his G-code, and Sam had issues with both the Z-axis and the coolant. Chances are, there is a bigger problem and Bill will need to investigate the root cause .

Talking with Bill, you discuss the best way to fix the problem. Bill suggests editing the G-code to raise the Z-axis of the spindle before it returns to its home position. You open the CNC control program and edit the G-code. Following the setup sheet, you re-setup the job and use the CNC single step/single block function, to do another dry run of the part. Everything looks good, so you run the job again and create the first part. It works. Since you need four of each component, you move on to creating the rest of them before cleaning up and leaving for the day.

It's a new day and you have new components to create. As you are setting up, you go in search of some short dowel pins. You discover that the bins are a mess and components have not been put away in the correctly labeled bins. You wonder if this was the cause of yesterday's problem. As you reorganize the bins and straighten up the mess, you decide to mention the mess issue to Bill in your afternoon meeting.

You describe the bin mess and using the incorrect length dowels to Bill. He is glad you mentioned the problem to him. You are not the first person to mention similar issues with tools and parts not being put away correctly. Chances are there is a bigger safety issue here that needs to be addressed in the next staff meeting.

In any workplace, following proper safety and cleanup procedures is always important. This is especially crucial in manufacturing where people are constantly working with heavy, costly and sometimes dangerous equipment. When issues and problems arise, it is important that they are addressed in an efficient and timely manner. Effective communication is an important tool because it can prevent problems from recurring, avoid injury to personnel, reduce rework and scrap, and ultimately, reduce cost, and save money.

You now know that the end mill was damaged when it hit the dowel pin. It seems to you that the easiest thing to do would be to edit the G-code and raise the Z-axis position of the spindle before it returns to the home position. You open the CNC control program and edit the G-code, raising the Z-axis. Starting over, you follow the setup sheet and re-setup the job. This time, you use the CNC single step/single block function, to do another dry run of the part. Everything looks good, so you run the job again and create the first part.

At the end of the day, you are reviewing your progress with your trainer, Bill. After you describe the day's events, he reminds you to always think about safety and the importance of following work procedures. He decides to bring the issue up in the next morning meeting as a reminder to everyone.

In any workplace, following proper procedures (especially those that involve safety) is always important. This is especially crucial in manufacturing where people are constantly working with heavy, costly, and sometimes dangerous equipment. When issues and problems arise, it is important that they are addressed in an efficient and timely manner. Effective communication is an important tool because it can prevent problems from recurring, avoid injury to personnel, reduce rework and scrap, and ultimately, reduce cost, and save money. One tool to improve communication is the morning meeting or huddle.

The next morning, you check the G-code to determine what is wrong with the coolant. You notice that the coolant is turned off at the beginning of the code and also at the end of the code. This is strange. You change the G-code to turn the coolant on at the beginning of the run and off at the end. This works and you create the rest of the parts.

Throughout the day, you keep wondering what caused the G-code error. At lunch, you mention the G-code error to your coworker, John. John is not surprised. He said that he encountered a similar problem earlier this week. You decide to talk with your supervisor the next time you see him.

You are in luck. You see your supervisor by the door getting ready to leave. You hurry over to talk with him. You start off by telling him about how you asked Bill for help. Then you tell him there was a problem and the end mill was damaged. You describe the coolant problem in the G-code. Oh, and by the way, John has seen a similar problem before.

Your supervisor doesn't seem overly concerned, errors happen. He tells you "Good job, I am glad you were able to fix the issue." You are not sure whether your supervisor understood your explanation of what happened or that it had happened before.

The challenge of communicating in the workplace is learning how to share your ideas and concerns. If you need to tell your supervisor that something is not going well, it is important to remember that timing, preparation, and attitude are extremely important.

It is the end of your shift, but you want to let the next shift know that the coolant didn't turn on. You do not see your trainer or supervisor around. You decide to leave a note for the next shift so they are aware of the possible coolant problem. You write a sticky note and leave it on the monitor of the CNC control system.

How effective do you think this solution was? Did it address the problem?

In this scenario, you discovered several problems with the G-code that need to be addressed. When issues and problems arise, it is important that they are addressed in an efficient and timely manner. Effective communication is an important tool because it can prevent problems from recurring and avoid injury to personnel. The challenge of communicating in the workplace is learning how and when to share your ideas and concerns. If you need to tell your co-workers or supervisor that there is a problem, it is important to remember that timing and the method of communication are extremely important.

You are able to fix the coolant problem in the G-code. While you are glad that the problem is fixed, you are worried about why it happened in the first place. It is important to remember that if a problem keeps reappearing, you may not be fixing the right problem. You may only be addressing the symptoms.

You decide to talk to your trainer. Bill is glad you mentioned the problem to him. You are the third worker to mention G-code issues over the last week. You noticed the coolant problems in your G-code, John noticed a Z-axis issue in his G-code, and Sam had issues with both the Z-axis and the coolant. Chances are, there is a bigger problem and Bill will need to investigate the root cause .

Over lunch, you ask your coworkers about the G-code problem and what may be causing the error. Several people mention having similar problems but do not know the cause.

You have now talked to three coworkers who have all experienced similar coolant G-code problems. You make a list of who had the problem, when they had the problem, and what each person told you.

When you see your supervisor later that afternoon, you are ready to talk with him. You describe the problem you had with your component and the damaged bit. You then go on to tell him about talking with Bill and discovering the G-code issue. You show him your notes on your coworkers' coolant issues, and explain that you think there might be a bigger problem.

You supervisor thanks you for your initiative in identifying this problem. It sounds like there is a bigger problem and he will need to investigate the root cause. He decides to call a team huddle to discuss the issue, gather more information, and talk with the team about the importance of communication.

Root Cause Analysis

flower root cause of a problem

Root cause analysis ( RCA ) is a method of problem solving that identifies the underlying causes of an issue. Root cause analysis helps people answer the question of why the problem occurred in the first place. RCA uses clear cut steps in its associated tools, like the "5 Whys Analysis" and the "Cause and Effect Diagram," to identify the origin of the problem, so that you can:

  • Determine what happened.
  • Determine why it happened.
  • Fix the problem so it won’t happen again.

RCA works under the idea that systems and events are connected. An action in one area triggers an action in another, and another, and so on. By tracing back these actions, you can discover where the problem started and how it developed into the problem you're now facing. Root cause analysis can prevent problems from recurring, reduce injury to personnel, reduce rework and scrap, and ultimately, reduce cost and save money. There are many different RCA techniques available to determine the root cause of a problem. These are just a few:

  • Root Cause Analysis Tools
  • 5 Whys Analysis
  • Fishbone or Cause and Effect Diagram
  • Pareto Analysis

5 whys diagram root cause

How Huddles Work

group huddle discussion meeting

Communication is a vital part of any setting where people work together. Effective communication helps employees and managers form efficient teams. It builds trusts between employees and management, and reduces unnecessary competition because each employee knows how their part fits in the larger goal.

One tool that management can use to promote communication in the workplace is the huddle . Just like football players on the field, a huddle is a short meeting where everyone is standing in a circle. A daily team huddle ensures that team members are aware of changes to the schedule, reiterated problems and safety issues, and how their work impacts one another. When done right, huddles create collaboration, communication, and accountability to results. Impromptu huddles can be used to gather information on a specific issue and get each team member's input.

The most important thing to remember about huddles is that they are short, lasting no more than 10 minutes, and their purpose is to communicate and identify. In essence, a huddle’s purpose is to identify priorities, communicate essential information, and discover roadblocks to productivity.

Who uses huddles? Many industries and companies use daily huddles. At first thought, most people probably think of hospitals and their daily patient update meetings, but lots of managers use daily meetings to engage their employees. Here are a few examples:

  • Brian Scudamore, CEO of 1-800-Got-Junk? , uses the daily huddle as an operational tool to take the pulse of his employees and as a motivational tool. Watch a morning huddle meeting .
  • Fusion OEM, an outsourced manufacturing and production company. What do employees take away from the daily huddle meeting .
  • Biz-Group, a performance consulting group. Tips for a successful huddle .

Brainstorming

brainstorming small lightbulbs combined become a big idea

One tool that can be useful in problem solving is brainstorming . Brainstorming is a creativity technique designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution to a problem. The method was first popularized in 1953 by Alex Faickney Osborn in the book Applied Imagination . The goal is to come up with as many ideas as you can in a fixed amount of time. Although brainstorming is best done in a group, it can be done individually. Like most problem solving techniques, brainstorming is a process.

  • Define a clear objective.
  • Have an agreed a time limit.
  • During the brainstorming session, write down everything that comes to mind, even if the idea sounds crazy.
  • If one idea leads to another, write down that idea too.
  • Combine and refine ideas into categories of solutions.
  • Assess and analyze each idea as a potential solution.

When used during problem solving, brainstorming can offer companies new ways of encouraging staff to think creatively and improve production. Brainstorming relies on team members' diverse experiences, adding to the richness of ideas explored. This means that you often find better solutions to the problems. Team members often welcome the opportunity to contribute ideas and can provide buy-in for the solution chosen—after all, they are more likely to be committed to an approach if they were involved in its development. What's more, because brainstorming is fun, it helps team members bond.

  • Watch Peggy Morgan Collins, a marketing executive at Power Curve Communications discuss How to Stimulate Effective Brainstorming .
  • Watch Kim Obbink, CEO of Filter Digital, a digital content company, and her team share their top five rules for How to Effectively Generate Ideas .

Importance of Good Communication and Problem Description

talking too much when describing a problem

Communication is one of the most frequent activities we engage in on a day-to-day basis. At some point, we have all felt that we did not effectively communicate an idea as we would have liked. The key to effective communication is preparation. Rather than attempting to haphazardly improvise something, take a few minutes and think about what you want say and how you will say it. If necessary, write yourself a note with the key points or ideas in the order you want to discuss them. The notes can act as a reminder or guide when you talk to your supervisor.

Tips for clear communication of an issue:

  • Provide a clear summary of your problem. Start at the beginning, give relevant facts, timelines, and examples.
  • Avoid including your opinion or personal attacks in your explanation.
  • Avoid using words like "always" or "never," which can give the impression that you are exaggerating the problem.
  • If this is an ongoing problem and you have collected documentation, give it to your supervisor once you have finished describing the problem.
  • Remember to listen to what's said in return; communication is a two-way process.

Not all communication is spoken. Body language is nonverbal communication that includes your posture, your hands and whether you make eye contact. These gestures can be subtle or overt, but most importantly they communicate meaning beyond what is said. When having a conversation, pay attention to how you stand. A stiff position with arms crossed over your chest may imply that you are being defensive even if your words state otherwise. Shoving your hands in your pockets when speaking could imply that you have something to hide. Be wary of using too many hand gestures because this could distract listeners from your message.

The challenge of communicating in the workplace is learning how and when to share your ideas or concerns. If you need to tell your supervisor or co-worker about something that is not going well, keep in mind that good timing and good attitude will go a long way toward helping your case.

Like all skills, effective communication needs to be practiced. Toastmasters International is perhaps the best known public speaking organization in the world. Toastmasters is open to anyone who wish to improve their speaking skills and is willing to put in the time and effort to do so. To learn more, visit Toastmasters International .

Methods of Communication

different ways to communicate

Communication of problems and issues in any workplace is important, particularly when safety is involved. It is therefore crucial in manufacturing where people are constantly working with heavy, costly, and sometimes dangerous equipment. As issues and problems arise, they need to be addressed in an efficient and timely manner. Effective communication is an important skill because it can prevent problems from recurring, avoid injury to personnel, reduce rework and scrap, and ultimately, reduce cost and save money.

There are many different ways to communicate: in person, by phone, via email, or written. There is no single method that fits all communication needs, each one has its time and place.

In person: In the workplace, face-to-face meetings should be utilized whenever possible. Being able to see the person you need to speak to face-to-face gives you instant feedback and helps you gauge their response through their body language. Be careful of getting sidetracked in conversation when you need to communicate a problem.

Email: Email has become the communication standard for most businesses. It can be accessed from almost anywhere and is great for things that don’t require an immediate response. Email is a great way to communicate non-urgent items to large amounts of people or just your team members. One thing to remember is that most people's inboxes are flooded with emails every day and unless they are hyper vigilant about checking everything, important items could be missed. For issues that are urgent, especially those around safety, email is not always be the best solution.

Phone: Phone calls are more personal and direct than email. They allow us to communicate in real time with another person, no matter where they are. Not only can talking prevent miscommunication, it promotes a two-way dialogue. You don’t have to worry about your words being altered or the message arriving on time. However, mobile phone use and the workplace don't always mix. In particular, using mobile phones in a manufacturing setting can lead to a variety of problems, cause distractions, and lead to serious injury.

Written: Written communication is appropriate when detailed instructions are required, when something needs to be documented, or when the person is too far away to easily speak with over the phone or in person.

There is no "right" way to communicate, but you should be aware of how and when to use the appropriate form of communication for your situation. When deciding the best way to communicate with a co-worker or manager, put yourself in their shoes, and think about how you would want to learn about the issue. Also, consider what information you would need to know to better understand the issue. Use your good judgment of the situation and be considerate of your listener's viewpoint.

Did you notice any other potential problems in the previous exercise?

  • [Page 6:] Did you notice any other potential problems in the previous exercise?

Summary of Strategies

In this exercise, you were given a scenario in which there was a problem with a component you were creating on a CNC machine. You were then asked how you wanted to proceed. Depending on your path through this exercise, you might have found an easy solution and fixed it yourself, asked for help and worked with your trainer, or discovered an ongoing G-code problem that was bigger than you initially thought.

When issues and problems arise, it is important that they are addressed in an efficient and timely manner. Communication is an important tool because it can prevent problems from recurring, avoid injury to personnel, reduce rework and scrap, and ultimately, reduce cost, and save money. Although, each path in this exercise ended with a description of a problem solving tool for your toolbox, the first step is always to identify the problem and define the context in which it happened.

There are several strategies that can be used to identify the root cause of a problem. Root cause analysis (RCA) is a method of problem solving that helps people answer the question of why the problem occurred. RCA uses a specific set of steps, with associated tools like the “5 Why Analysis" or the “Cause and Effect Diagram,” to identify the origin of the problem, so that you can:

Once the underlying cause is identified and the scope of the issue defined, the next step is to explore possible strategies to fix the problem.

If you are not sure how to fix the problem, it is okay to ask for help. Problem solving is a process and a skill that is learned with practice. It is important to remember that everyone makes mistakes and that no one knows everything. Life is about learning. It is okay to ask for help when you don’t have the answer. When you collaborate to solve problems you improve workplace communication and accelerates finding solutions as similar problems arise.

One tool that can be useful for generating possible solutions is brainstorming . Brainstorming is a technique designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution to a problem. The method was first popularized in 1953 by Alex Faickney Osborn in the book Applied Imagination. The goal is to come up with as many ideas as you can, in a fixed amount of time. Although brainstorming is best done in a group, it can be done individually.

Depending on your path through the exercise, you may have discovered that a couple of your coworkers had experienced similar problems. This should have been an indicator that there was a larger problem that needed to be addressed.

In any workplace, communication of problems and issues (especially those that involve safety) is always important. This is especially crucial in manufacturing where people are constantly working with heavy, costly, and sometimes dangerous equipment. When issues and problems arise, it is important that they be addressed in an efficient and timely manner. Effective communication is an important tool because it can prevent problems from recurring, avoid injury to personnel, reduce rework and scrap, and ultimately, reduce cost and save money.

One strategy for improving communication is the huddle . Just like football players on the field, a huddle is a short meeting with everyone standing in a circle. A daily team huddle is a great way to ensure that team members are aware of changes to the schedule, any problems or safety issues are identified and that team members are aware of how their work impacts one another. When done right, huddles create collaboration, communication, and accountability to results. Impromptu huddles can be used to gather information on a specific issue and get each team member's input.

To learn more about different problem solving strategies, choose an option below. These strategies accompany the outcomes of different decision paths in the problem solving exercise.

  • View Problem Solving Strategies Select a strategy below... Root Cause Analysis How Huddles Work Brainstorming Importance of Good Problem Description Methods of Communication

Communication is one of the most frequent activities we engage in on a day-to-day basis. At some point, we have all felt that we did not effectively communicate an idea as we would have liked. The key to effective communication is preparation. Rather than attempting to haphazardly improvise something, take a few minutes and think about what you want say and how you will say it. If necessary, write yourself a note with the key points or ideas in the order you want to discuss them. The notes can act as a reminder or guide during your meeting.

  • Provide a clear summary of the problem. Start at the beginning, give relevant facts, timelines, and examples.

In person: In the workplace, face-to-face meetings should be utilized whenever possible. Being able to see the person you need to speak to face-to-face gives you instant feedback and helps you gauge their response in their body language. Be careful of getting sidetracked in conversation when you need to communicate a problem.

There is no "right" way to communicate, but you should be aware of how and when to use the appropriate form of communication for the situation. When deciding the best way to communicate with a co-worker or manager, put yourself in their shoes, and think about how you would want to learn about the issue. Also, consider what information you would need to know to better understand the issue. Use your good judgment of the situation and be considerate of your listener's viewpoint.

"Never try to solve all the problems at once — make them line up for you one-by-one.” — Richard Sloma

Problem Solving: An Important Job Skill

Problem solving improves efficiency and communication on the shop floor. It increases a company's efficiency and profitability, so it's one of the top skills employers look for when hiring new employees. Recent industry surveys show that employers consider soft skills, such as problem solving, as critical to their business’s success.

The 2011 survey, "Boiling Point? The skills gap in U.S. manufacturing ," polled over a thousand manufacturing executives who reported that the number one skill deficiency among their current employees is problem solving, which makes it difficult for their companies to adapt to the changing needs of the industry.

In this video, industry professionals discuss their expectations and present tips for new employees joining the manufacturing workforce.

Quick Summary

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Management 3.0

The Importance of Problem-Solving Skills in the Workplace

November 10, 2022 - job & career.

Hands-on Management 3.0 leadership workshops focus on tangible practices to help managers, team leaders, middle management, and C-level executives increase employee engagement and foster transformational change within their organizations. Start Your Leadership Journey Today!

According to Management 3.0 Facilitator Ilija Popjanev , problem solving is essential for individuals and organizations as it enables us to control all aspects of our business environment. In this article, Ilija looks into problem-solving skills, how the problem-solving process works, and which tools help you to advance this skill set.

In this article you will learn about:

What is Problem Solving?

  • Problem-Solving in Six Easy Steps

Why is Problem-Solving so Important for Leaders, Teams, and Organizations?

Problem-solving techniques in the workplace, better employee experience by using problem-solving tools from management 3.0, how do employees develop problem-solving skills, what skills make a good problem solver.

In the last few years, we have been living 100% in the VUCA world, with so many unpredictable and complex threats and challenges. As a result, organizations must create a sense of urgency to redesign their present business models and to rebuild the foundations for the future of work. 

All companies now need effective problem-solving skills and tools at all levels, starting with individuals and teams, and finishing with their leaders and managers. This new reality enables growth and success only for those well-equipped and empowered by effective problem-solving skills and tools. 

One of the behaviors of Management 1.0 style is to constantly look for ways to stop “fighting fires,”. Instead, the Management 3.0 style seeks to “find the root cause” of the problem, and then to refocus, improve, and plan a different way for fulfilling workplace tasks.

Management 3.0 provides effective tools and principles for building the system for effective problem solving. It provides us with techniques we can use to understand what is happening in our world, to identify things we want to change, and then apply everything that needs to be done to achieve the desired outcome. We live by the motto: fail fast, recover quickly, and learn from the failures.

The agile way of working does not mean being perfect, but instead it allows for failures and sees them as opportunities to learn, grow, and adapt . Perfection is useless if we do not provide value fast for our customers. That is why problem solving is the foundation for continuous improvement, learning, and collaboration, which leads to innovations and success in ever-changing economies and the new normal that we now live in. 

The definition of problem solving according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is: “The process or act of finding a solution to a problem.” Similarly, the Oxford English Dictionary describes problem solving as: “The process of finding solutions to difficult or complex issues.”

For me, Problem-solving is a process of understanding and owning the problem, constant pursuit for solutions and improvements, and putting into action the best option for the desired outcome.

Understanding context and interacting with our teammates are the essence of effective problem-solving. We must clearly understand the complexity of our environment and the specifics of the context because things continuously change and evolve. Here, the Complexity Thinking Guidelines may help you to better understand what is happening and how to navigate complex environments more effectively.

We must have a lens through which to see problems as opportunities to improve, and regard our teams as sources of knowledge and experience. We have to connect people and opportunities in ways that can facilitate the best solutions for the problems that we are handling. Try using the Personal Maps , an excellent tool for bringing teams together and fostering diversity, respect, trust, and collaboration.

Today, all innovations and solved problems are team efforts because teams constantly improve their toolbox and competencies. Teams want to create something that was not there before, and which maximize their knowledge and resources.

To accomplish that, they need to build a process in a few easy steps:

  • Be present, observe what is happening in your world, and define the problem.
  • Review where you are now and what influences that state.
  • Constantly improve and change things by using creative tools and tactics.
  • Seek solutions and alternatives to make changes more effective.
  • Make team decisions about which tools and solutions should be used.
  • Implement improvements, monitor the process, and constantly adapt!

Problem-Solving in Six Easy Steps

At this stage, by following the Management 3.0 principle of “Improving the system,” you can use the tools Celebration Grids , combined with Yay! Questions , to best engage the team in the problem-solving process, while keeping track of what is working well, what can be changed, and what new options exist.

Documenting everything is an integral part of the problem-solving process. By using Celebration Grids, you are gamifying the process and keeping the team flow and energy on a higher level.

Also read: What type of problem-solver are you?

Problem-solving is crucial for everyone: individuals, teams, leaders, organizations, and ultimately for all stakeholders because it empowers us to better control the environment and everything that is going on in our world. Try using Delegation Poker so that teams can become more empowered to solve problems both alongside leaders and within their organization. 

Today, the speed of problem solving is important, and that is why organizations must give more power and authority on a team level , so employees can react quickly and even prevent problems. As a leading indicator, the Management 3.0 tool Problem Time can help you measure the time spent on uncompleted problem-solving tasks and activities; this is a valuable add-on to “lead and cycle time” lagging indicators, with which you measure the time taken on completed tasks.

Developing and refining problem-solving skills through constant practice and experimentation can refine the ability to solve problems and address issues with more complexities.

We may face various challenges in our daily work, and effective problem-solving can make a difference.

Make a Difference with Problem-Solving

  • Problem-solving skills are important if you want to add more value . As an agilist, your objective is not to be perfect but to maximize the value you provide for all stakeholders. Start fast, deliver value early, manage failures and prioritize tasks by setting the urgency criteria.
  • Problem-solving skills are important if you need to improve your results. You have to accept the complexity of success factors and better understand the need for changes and improvements in a continually uncertain environment. Results depend on your problem-solving skills!
  • Problem-solving skills are important if you have to fix things that do not work. When your processes are not working as planned, problem solving will give you the structure and mechanisms to identify issues, figure out why things are broken, and take actions to fix them.
  • Problem-solving skills are important when you have to address a risk. Sharpen your problem-solving skills to anticipate future events better and increase the awareness of cause-and-effect relationships. This enables you to take the right actions and influence the outcomes if issues do occur.
  • Problem-solving skills are important if you work simultaneously on several projects. You should apply the same problem-solving techniques when you work on multiple projects, business functions, market segments, services, systems, processes, and teams. Standardize and scale!
  • Problem-solving skills are important when you want to seize the day. Problem solving is all about innovation , building new things, and changing the system into a better one. This can help us to identify opportunities even in challenging times and prepare us for the future. You can visualize the process with the Meddles Game to better understand your ideas, solutions, and activities. It is a great way to engage your team as you can build the problem-solving concept and it is an effective tool for influencing all stakeholders affected by the problem. 

Also read: Collaborative Leadership explained .

Solving complex problems may be difficult, but problems will be solved when we use the right tools. Besides the powerful Management 3.0 tools I already mentioned, as a big fan of Lean and Liberating structures, I think you can find lots of problem-solving techniques to use in your daily business. 

Here is my short list of tools and techniques:

  • 5 Whys – a great way to uncover the root cause is to understand the problem better. 
  • Fishbone analysis – for visual analysis of the root causes of a problem. Easy to combine with ‘5 Whys’ or ‘Mind mapping’ to brainstorm and determine the cause and effect of any problem.
  • Silent brainstorming – gives everyone a chance to participate in idea generation as not only the loudest people, but also the quiet ones, will participate equally. Everyone’s opinion has the same weight. 
  • Mind maps – structured visual diagrams to share your ideas, concepts, and solutions the same way your brain does. You explain the problems quickly, then share fresh ideas, and finally come to a team consensus that can lead to an effective solution. 
  • Six thinking hats – enable your team to consider problems from different angles, focusing on facts, creative solutions, or why some solutions might not work.
  • Agreement certainty matrix – another tremendous visual tool for brainstorming problems and challenges by sorting them into simple, complicated, complex, or chaotic domains to later agree on what approach should be used to solve the concrete problems affecting a team.  
  • Conversation café – enables the team to engage in productive conversations, with less arguing but more active listening, solving the problem in rounds of dialogues until reaching a consensus regarding the best problem-solving approach. 
  • Design thinking – when you are struggling for fresh ideas, the 5-step process will help you empathize with the problem, then begin defining and developing new ideas, before prototyping and testing them. 

Edward Deming’s PDCA is the most known concept for continuous improvement and problem solving. You can gamify your events using the Change Management Game , a card game where PDCA will help you define the problem, take action, collect feedback, and adopt the new solution.

The “carrot and stick” approach, or in HR language, “pay for performance,” does not work anymore, especially for roles that require problem-solving, creativity, and innovative thinking. Creative people need a higher level of authority and empowerment to self-manage challenges and problem scenarios. When leaders and organizations create such systems, they foster intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction among these people. Creatives are seeking self-actualization through their careers.

This is one more case which calls for Management 3.0’s Delegation Poker to define the levels of authority in terms of problem-solving issues, as well as Moving Motivators to define key motivators for increasing productivity and employee satisfaction by changing behavior.

Improving Employee Experience with Problem-Solving

1. Use problem solving as a key motivator – have in mind Millennials and Gen Z creative workers ’ affinity towards tasks in which they feel challenged and have a sense of meaning. Provide them with big and tough problems to solve and use challenging tasks to keep them constantly engaged.

2. Continuous improvement can make a difference – creatives seek a sense of purpose and think outside of the box, so encouraging the ‘How can we execute this task better?’ mindset and problem solving become powerful tools for creating sustainable corporate culture.

3. Don’t connect solving problems with rewards – it can kill the perceived intrinsic value of the activity; it will disengage and dissatisfy employees. Autonomy, trust, respect, and gratitude will do the job. 

4. Apply the seven rules for creative managers – unleash the power of diversity , and cooperation, rely on merits, optimize exploration, open boundaries, keep options open, and update your workplace. 

Improving Employee Experience with Problem-Solving

We start solving problems from a very early age (the alphabet, learning to eat, driving a bicycle etc.). Then, everyday activities sharpen our problem-solving skills and enable us to solve more complex issues. 

As an adult, you can still develop your problem-solving skills by:

  • Daily practicing of logic games, such as chess, and puzzles like Sudoku. 
  • Video games can teach you how to deal with failure and persist in achieving your goals.
  • Keep an idea journal or blog as a collection of all your ideas, thoughts, and patterns. 
  • Think outside of the box – take a different perspective to understand the problem better.
  • Practice brainstorming combined with mind mapping, working with your team.
  • Put yourself in new situations – take on a challenging project at work.
  • Start using the “what if” mindset in daily circumstances and test new approaches.
  • Read more books on creativity and articles which cover your areas of interest. 

I also believe coaching can help build creativity and problem-solving skills, encouraging people to take greater ownership of their work and commit to corporate goals. A coach can provide clear guidance as to what is important at the moment; they help people better, focus, and move into action. By asking powerful questions and challenging others to think outside of the box, the coach removes their barriers and lets them see the situation from a new perspective.

Coaching can provide structure so people develop their own expertise and insights to contribute better when problems arise and the pressure to succeed is growing.

The interview is an excellent opportunity to research a candidate’s problem-solving skills, and STAR questions should be related to their previous experience dealing with problems. A candidate with good problem-solving skills can quickly embed in the team and become a valuable asset for the company.

In my Agility in HR workshops , we regularly discuss interview questions. Some popular STAR questions are:

  • “If you cannot find a solution to a problem, how do you deal with the situation?”
  • “How do you react when faced with unexpected problems or challenges?”
  • “Describe an occasion when you had to adapt at the last minute. How did you handle this?”

Problem-solving requires the ability to identify a problem, find the root cause, create solutions, and execute them. All these steps are essential for achieving the desired results. 

Some of the skills that problem solvers must constantly sharpen are:

  • Collaborative communication . Clear communication is essential when you explain the problem and the solution to your teammates. During brainstorming sessions, asking the right questions to determine the root cause , as well as synergic collaboration are needed.
  • Active listening is important to prevent mistakes as  you can absorb the details your colleagues tell you about the problem. Use open-ended questions for clarification, and always be open to feedback and views that differ from yours.
  • Coachability. The willingness to accept feedback and the ability to improve. Learning from more experienced people, being curious to ask many questions, constructively using your ego, skipping excuses and blaming others, and accepting Feedback Wraps from your coach.
  • Decision making . Problems cannot be solved without risk-taking and bringing important decisions (including relevant data, levels of delegation, alternative solutions etc.) to the forefront.
  • Critical thinking . Be 100% objective when you try to find the cause of the problem. Skip ego trips and personal biases. Identify your mistakes in the thinking process and show personal accountability .
  • Research and data analysis . Proper research allows you to diagnose the actual problem, not just the symptoms. If the cause of the problem is not immediately apparent, you can use the power of data to discover the issue’s history, some patterns, future trends, etc.
  • Persistence . Trust in the problem-solving process you have designed and follow every step with patience and persistence; even when you fail repeatedly, do not give up. Keep moving and remember Thomas Edison’s quote: “I have not failed. I have just found 9,999 ways that do not work.”

Skills of good problem-solvers

In the new VUCA world we now live in, problem solving is a crucial soft skill, and employers are actively seeking people with this skill set because they can prepare for problems before they arise. Problem solvers better identify opportunities, understand their environment, create a solution, and generate ideas that lead to great results and success.

According to a study made by LinkedIn Learning in August 2022 , future skills are rapidly changing, and problem solving is among the top soft skills employers search for from their candidates, as well as communication and leadership skills.

Using all aforementioned tools and practices from Management 3.0, following the guides, and sharpening your skills, will help you not only to be effective in resolving the problems that may arise, but also to solve them with enthusiasm and passion. They will create a higher level of engagement and collaboration in the team and help unleash people’s creativity and innovation. A win-win for everyone!

Photo by Parabol on Unsplash

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What Are Problem-Solving Skills?

Definition & Examples of Problem-Solving Skills

significance of problem solving skills

  • Problem-solving skills help you determine why an issue is happening and how to resolve that issue.

Learn more about problem-solving skills and how they work.

Problem-solving skills help you solve issues quickly and effectively. It's one of the  key skills that employers  seek in job applicants, as employees with these skills tend to be self-reliant. Problem-solving skills require quickly identifying the underlying issue and implementing a solution.

Problem-solving is considered a  soft skill  (a personal strength) rather than a hard skill that's learned through education or training. You can improve your problem-solving skills by familiarizing yourself with common issues in your industry and learning from more experienced employees.

How Problem-Solving Skills Work

Problem-solving starts with identifying the issue. For example, a teacher might need to figure out how to improve student performance on a writing proficiency test. To do that, the teacher will review the writing tests looking for areas of improvement. They might see that students can construct simple sentences, but they're struggling with writing paragraphs and organizing those paragraphs into an essay.

To solve the problem, the teacher would work with students on how and when to write compound sentences, how to write paragraphs, and ways to organize an essay.

Theresa Chiechi / The Balance

There are five steps typically used in problem-solving.

1. Analyze Contributing Factors

To solve a problem, you must find out what caused it. This requires you to gather and evaluate data, isolate possible contributing circumstances, and pinpoint what needs to be addressed for a resolution.

To do this, you'll use skills like :

  • Data gathering
  • Data analysis
  • Fact-finding
  • Historical analysis

2. Generate Interventions

Once you’ve determined the cause, brainstorm possible solutions. Sometimes this involves teamwork since two (or more) minds are often better than one. A single strategy is rarely the obvious route to solving a complex problem; devising a set of alternatives helps you cover your bases and reduces your risk of exposure should the first strategy you implement fail.

This involves skills like :

  • Brainstorming
  • Creative thinking
  • Forecasting
  • Project design
  • Project planning

3. Evaluate Solutions

Depending on the nature of the problem and your chain of command, evaluating best solutions may be performed by assigned teams, team leads, or forwarded to corporate decision-makers. Whoever makes the decision must evaluate potential costs, required resources, and possible barriers to successful solution implementation.

This requires several skills, including:

  • Corroboration
  • Test development
  • Prioritizing

4. Implement a Plan

Once a course of action has been decided, it must be implemented along with benchmarks that can quickly and accurately determine whether it’s working. Plan implementation also involves letting personnel know about changes in standard operating procedures.

This requires skills like:

  • Project management
  • Project implementation
  • Collaboration
  • Time management
  • Benchmark development

5. Assess the Solution's Effectiveness

Once a solution is implemented, the best problem-solvers have systems in place to evaluate if and how quickly it's working. This way, they know as soon as possible whether the issue has been resolved or whether they’ll have to change their response to the problem mid-stream.

This requires:

  • Communication
  • Customer feedback
  • Follow-through
  • Troubleshooting

Here's an example of showing your problem-solving skills in a cover letter.

When I was first hired as a paralegal, I inherited a backlog of 25 sets of medical records that needed to be summarized, each of which was hundreds of pages long. At the same time, I had to help prepare for three major cases, and there weren’t enough hours in the day. After I explained the problem to my supervisor, she agreed to pay me to come in on Saturday mornings to focus on the backlog. I was able to eliminate the backlog in a month.

Here's another example of how to show your problem-solving skills in a cover letter:

When I joined the team at Great Graphics as Artistic Director, the designers had become uninspired because of a former director who attempted to micro-manage every step in the design process. I used weekly round-table discussions to solicit creative input and ensured that each designer was given full autonomy to do their best work. I also introduced monthly team-based competitions that helped build morale, spark new ideas, and improve collaboration.

Highlighting Problem-Solving Skills

  • Since this is a skill that's important to most employers, put them front and center on your resume, cover letter, and in interviews.

If you're not sure what to include, look to previous roles—whether in academic, work, or volunteer settings—for examples of challenges you met and problems you solved. Highlight relevant examples in your  cover letter and use bullet points in your resume to show how you solved a problem.

During interviews, be ready to describe situations you've encountered in previous roles, the processes you followed to address problems, the skills you applied, and the results of your actions. Potential employers are eager to hear a  coherent narrative of the ways you've used problem-solving skills .

Interviewers may pose hypothetical problems for you to solve. Base your answers on the five steps and refer to similar problems you've resolved, if possible. Here are tips for answering problem-solving interview questions , with examples of the best answers.

Key Takeaways

  • It's one of the key skills that employers seek in job applicants.
  • Problem-solving starts with identifying the issue, coming up with solutions, implementing those solutions, and evaluating their effectiveness. 
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Problem-Solving Strategies and Obstacles

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

significance of problem solving skills

Sean is a fact-checker and researcher with experience in sociology, field research, and data analytics.

significance of problem solving skills

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  • Application
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From deciding what to eat for dinner to considering whether it's the right time to buy a house, problem-solving is a large part of our daily lives. Learn some of the problem-solving strategies that exist and how to use them in real life, along with ways to overcome obstacles that are making it harder to resolve the issues you face.

What Is Problem-Solving?

In cognitive psychology , the term 'problem-solving' refers to the mental process that people go through to discover, analyze, and solve problems.

A problem exists when there is a goal that we want to achieve but the process by which we will achieve it is not obvious to us. Put another way, there is something that we want to occur in our life, yet we are not immediately certain how to make it happen.

Maybe you want a better relationship with your spouse or another family member but you're not sure how to improve it. Or you want to start a business but are unsure what steps to take. Problem-solving helps you figure out how to achieve these desires.

The problem-solving process involves:

  • Discovery of the problem
  • Deciding to tackle the issue
  • Seeking to understand the problem more fully
  • Researching available options or solutions
  • Taking action to resolve the issue

Before problem-solving can occur, it is important to first understand the exact nature of the problem itself. If your understanding of the issue is faulty, your attempts to resolve it will also be incorrect or flawed.

Problem-Solving Mental Processes

Several mental processes are at work during problem-solving. Among them are:

  • Perceptually recognizing the problem
  • Representing the problem in memory
  • Considering relevant information that applies to the problem
  • Identifying different aspects of the problem
  • Labeling and describing the problem

Problem-Solving Strategies

There are many ways to go about solving a problem. Some of these strategies might be used on their own, or you may decide to employ multiple approaches when working to figure out and fix a problem.

An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that, by following certain "rules" produces a solution. Algorithms are commonly used in mathematics to solve division or multiplication problems. But they can be used in other fields as well.

In psychology, algorithms can be used to help identify individuals with a greater risk of mental health issues. For instance, research suggests that certain algorithms might help us recognize children with an elevated risk of suicide or self-harm.

One benefit of algorithms is that they guarantee an accurate answer. However, they aren't always the best approach to problem-solving, in part because detecting patterns can be incredibly time-consuming.

There are also concerns when machine learning is involved—also known as artificial intelligence (AI)—such as whether they can accurately predict human behaviors.

Heuristics are shortcut strategies that people can use to solve a problem at hand. These "rule of thumb" approaches allow you to simplify complex problems, reducing the total number of possible solutions to a more manageable set.

If you find yourself sitting in a traffic jam, for example, you may quickly consider other routes, taking one to get moving once again. When shopping for a new car, you might think back to a prior experience when negotiating got you a lower price, then employ the same tactics.

While heuristics may be helpful when facing smaller issues, major decisions shouldn't necessarily be made using a shortcut approach. Heuristics also don't guarantee an effective solution, such as when trying to drive around a traffic jam only to find yourself on an equally crowded route.

Trial and Error

A trial-and-error approach to problem-solving involves trying a number of potential solutions to a particular issue, then ruling out those that do not work. If you're not sure whether to buy a shirt in blue or green, for instance, you may try on each before deciding which one to purchase.

This can be a good strategy to use if you have a limited number of solutions available. But if there are many different choices available, narrowing down the possible options using another problem-solving technique can be helpful before attempting trial and error.

In some cases, the solution to a problem can appear as a sudden insight. You are facing an issue in a relationship or your career when, out of nowhere, the solution appears in your mind and you know exactly what to do.

Insight can occur when the problem in front of you is similar to an issue that you've dealt with in the past. Although, you may not recognize what is occurring since the underlying mental processes that lead to insight often happen outside of conscious awareness .

Research indicates that insight is most likely to occur during times when you are alone—such as when going on a walk by yourself, when you're in the shower, or when lying in bed after waking up.

How to Apply Problem-Solving Strategies in Real Life

If you're facing a problem, you can implement one or more of these strategies to find a potential solution. Here's how to use them in real life:

  • Create a flow chart . If you have time, you can take advantage of the algorithm approach to problem-solving by sitting down and making a flow chart of each potential solution, its consequences, and what happens next.
  • Recall your past experiences . When a problem needs to be solved fairly quickly, heuristics may be a better approach. Think back to when you faced a similar issue, then use your knowledge and experience to choose the best option possible.
  • Start trying potential solutions . If your options are limited, start trying them one by one to see which solution is best for achieving your desired goal. If a particular solution doesn't work, move on to the next.
  • Take some time alone . Since insight is often achieved when you're alone, carve out time to be by yourself for a while. The answer to your problem may come to you, seemingly out of the blue, if you spend some time away from others.

Obstacles to Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is not a flawless process as there are a number of obstacles that can interfere with our ability to solve a problem quickly and efficiently. These obstacles include:

  • Assumptions: When dealing with a problem, people can make assumptions about the constraints and obstacles that prevent certain solutions. Thus, they may not even try some potential options.
  • Functional fixedness : This term refers to the tendency to view problems only in their customary manner. Functional fixedness prevents people from fully seeing all of the different options that might be available to find a solution.
  • Irrelevant or misleading information: When trying to solve a problem, it's important to distinguish between information that is relevant to the issue and irrelevant data that can lead to faulty solutions. The more complex the problem, the easier it is to focus on misleading or irrelevant information.
  • Mental set: A mental set is a tendency to only use solutions that have worked in the past rather than looking for alternative ideas. A mental set can work as a heuristic, making it a useful problem-solving tool. However, mental sets can also lead to inflexibility, making it more difficult to find effective solutions.

How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills

In the end, if your goal is to become a better problem-solver, it's helpful to remember that this is a process. Thus, if you want to improve your problem-solving skills, following these steps can help lead you to your solution:

  • Recognize that a problem exists . If you are facing a problem, there are generally signs. For instance, if you have a mental illness , you may experience excessive fear or sadness, mood changes, and changes in sleeping or eating habits. Recognizing these signs can help you realize that an issue exists.
  • Decide to solve the problem . Make a conscious decision to solve the issue at hand. Commit to yourself that you will go through the steps necessary to find a solution.
  • Seek to fully understand the issue . Analyze the problem you face, looking at it from all sides. If your problem is relationship-related, for instance, ask yourself how the other person may be interpreting the issue. You might also consider how your actions might be contributing to the situation.
  • Research potential options . Using the problem-solving strategies mentioned, research potential solutions. Make a list of options, then consider each one individually. What are some pros and cons of taking the available routes? What would you need to do to make them happen?
  • Take action . Select the best solution possible and take action. Action is one of the steps required for change . So, go through the motions needed to resolve the issue.
  • Try another option, if needed . If the solution you chose didn't work, don't give up. Either go through the problem-solving process again or simply try another option.

You can find a way to solve your problems as long as you keep working toward this goal—even if the best solution is simply to let go because no other good solution exists.

Sarathy V. Real world problem-solving .  Front Hum Neurosci . 2018;12:261. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00261

Dunbar K. Problem solving . A Companion to Cognitive Science . 2017. doi:10.1002/9781405164535.ch20

Stewart SL, Celebre A, Hirdes JP, Poss JW. Risk of suicide and self-harm in kids: The development of an algorithm to identify high-risk individuals within the children's mental health system . Child Psychiat Human Develop . 2020;51:913-924. doi:10.1007/s10578-020-00968-9

Rosenbusch H, Soldner F, Evans AM, Zeelenberg M. Supervised machine learning methods in psychology: A practical introduction with annotated R code . Soc Personal Psychol Compass . 2021;15(2):e12579. doi:10.1111/spc3.12579

Mishra S. Decision-making under risk: Integrating perspectives from biology, economics, and psychology . Personal Soc Psychol Rev . 2014;18(3):280-307. doi:10.1177/1088868314530517

Csikszentmihalyi M, Sawyer K. Creative insight: The social dimension of a solitary moment . In: The Systems Model of Creativity . 2015:73-98. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9085-7_7

Chrysikou EG, Motyka K, Nigro C, Yang SI, Thompson-Schill SL. Functional fixedness in creative thinking tasks depends on stimulus modality .  Psychol Aesthet Creat Arts . 2016;10(4):425‐435. doi:10.1037/aca0000050

Huang F, Tang S, Hu Z. Unconditional perseveration of the short-term mental set in chunk decomposition .  Front Psychol . 2018;9:2568. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02568

National Alliance on Mental Illness. Warning signs and symptoms .

Mayer RE. Thinking, problem solving, cognition, 2nd ed .

Schooler JW, Ohlsson S, Brooks K. Thoughts beyond words: When language overshadows insight. J Experiment Psychol: General . 1993;122:166-183. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.2.166

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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What Are Problem-Solving Skills? (Definition, Examples, And How To List On A Resume)

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Summary. Problem-solving skills include analysis, creativity, prioritization, organization, and troubleshooting. To solve a problem, you need to use a variety of skills based on the needs of the situation.

Most jobs essentially boil down to identifying and solving problems consistently and effectively. That’s why employers value problem-solving skills in job candidates for just about every role.

We’ll cover problem-solving methods, ways to improve your problem-solving skills, and examples of showcasing your problem-solving skills during your job search .

Key Takeaways:

If you can show off your problem-solving skills on your resume , in your cover letter , and during a job interview, you’ll be one step closer to landing a job.

Companies rely on employees who can handle unexpected challenges, identify persistent issues, and offer workable solutions in a positive way.

It is important to improve problem solving skill because this is a skill that can be cultivated and nurtured so you can become better at dealing with problems over time.

What are problem solving skills (definition, examples, and how to list on a resume)

Types of Problem-Solving Skills

How to improve your problem-solving skills, example answers to problem-solving interview questions, how to show off problem-solving skills on a resume, example resume and cover letter with problem-solving skills, more about problem-solving skills, problem solving skills faqs.

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Problem-solving skills are skills that help you identify and solve problems effectively and efficiently . Your ability to solve problems is one of the main ways that hiring managers and recruiters assess candidates, as those with excellent problem-solving skills are more likely to autonomously carry out their responsibilities.

A true problem solver can look at a situation, find the cause of the problem (or causes, because there are often many issues at play), and then come up with a reasonable solution that effectively fixes the problem or at least remedies most of it.

The ability to solve problems is considered a soft skill , meaning that it’s more of a personality trait than a skill you’ve learned at school, on the job, or through technical training.

That being said, your proficiency with various hard skills will have a direct bearing on your ability to solve problems. For example, it doesn’t matter if you’re a great problem-solver; if you have no experience with astrophysics, you probably won’t be hired as a space station technician .

Problem-solving is considered a skill on its own, but it’s supported by many other skills that can help you be a better problem solver. These skills fall into a few different categories of problem-solving skills.

Problem recognition and analysis. The first step is to recognize that there is a problem and discover what it is or what the root cause of it is.

You can’t begin to solve a problem unless you’re aware of it. Sometimes you’ll see the problem yourself and other times you’ll be told about the problem. Both methods of discovery are very important, but they can require some different skills. The following can be an important part of the process:

Active listening

Data analysis

Historical analysis

Communication

Create possible solutions. You know what the problem is, and you might even know the why of it, but then what? Your next step is the come up with some solutions.

Most of the time, the first solution you come up with won’t be the right one. Don’t fall victim to knee-jerk reactions; try some of the following methods to give you solution options.

Brainstorming

Forecasting

Decision-making

Topic knowledge/understanding

Process flow

Evaluation of solution options. Now that you have a lot of solution options, it’s time to weed through them and start casting some aside. There might be some ridiculous ones, bad ones, and ones you know could never be implemented. Throw them away and focus on the potentially winning ideas.

This step is probably the one where a true, natural problem solver will shine. They intuitively can put together mental scenarios and try out solutions to see their plusses and minuses. If you’re still working on your skill set — try listing the pros and cons on a sheet of paper.

Prioritizing

Evaluating and weighing

Solution implementation. This is your “take action” step. Once you’ve decided which way to go, it’s time to head down that path and see if you were right. This step takes a lot of people and management skills to make it work for you.

Dependability

Teambuilding

Troubleshooting

Follow-Through

Believability

Trustworthiness

Project management

Evaluation of the solution. Was it a good solution? Did your plan work or did it fail miserably? Sometimes the evaluation step takes a lot of work and review to accurately determine effectiveness. The following skills might be essential for a thorough evaluation.

Customer service

Feedback responses

Flexibility

You now have a ton of skills in front of you. Some of them you have naturally and some — not so much. If you want to solve a problem, and you want to be known for doing that well and consistently, then it’s time to sharpen those skills.

Develop industry knowledge. Whether it’s broad-based industry knowledge, on-the-job training , or very specific knowledge about a small sector — knowing all that you can and feeling very confident in your knowledge goes a long way to learning how to solve problems.

Be a part of a solution. Step up and become involved in the problem-solving process. Don’t lead — but follow. Watch an expert solve the problem and, if you pay attention, you’ll learn how to solve a problem, too. Pay attention to the steps and the skills that a person uses.

Practice solving problems. Do some role-playing with a mentor , a professor , co-workers, other students — just start throwing problems out there and coming up with solutions and then detail how those solutions may play out.

Go a step further, find some real-world problems and create your solutions, then find out what they did to solve the problem in actuality.

Identify your weaknesses. If you could easily point out a few of your weaknesses in the list of skills above, then those are the areas you need to focus on improving. How you do it is incredibly varied, so find a method that works for you.

Solve some problems — for real. If the opportunity arises, step in and use your problem-solving skills. You’ll never really know how good (or bad) you are at it until you fail.

That’s right, failing will teach you so much more than succeeding will. You’ll learn how to go back and readdress the problem, find out where you went wrong, learn more from listening even better. Failure will be your best teacher ; it might not make you feel good, but it’ll make you a better problem-solver in the long run.

Once you’ve impressed a hiring manager with top-notch problem-solving skills on your resume and cover letter , you’ll need to continue selling yourself as a problem-solver in the job interview.

There are three main ways that employers can assess your problem-solving skills during an interview:

By asking questions that relate to your past experiences solving problems

Posing hypothetical problems for you to solve

By administering problem-solving tests and exercises

The third method varies wildly depending on what job you’re applying for, so we won’t attempt to cover all the possible problem-solving tests and exercises that may be a part of your application process.

Luckily, interview questions focused on problem-solving are pretty well-known, and most can be answered using the STAR method . STAR stands for situation, task, action, result, and it’s a great way to organize your answers to behavioral interview questions .

Let’s take a look at how to answer some common interview questions built to assess your problem-solving capabilities:

At my current job as an operations analyst at XYZ Inc., my boss set a quarterly goal to cut contractor spending by 25% while maintaining the same level of production and moving more processes in-house. It turned out that achieving this goal required hiring an additional 6 full-time employees, which got stalled due to the pandemic. I suggested that we widen our net and hire remote employees after our initial applicant pool had no solid candidates. I ran the analysis on overhead costs and found that if even 4 of the 6 employees were remote, we’d save 16% annually compared to the contractors’ rates. In the end, all 6 employees we hired were fully remote, and we cut costs by 26% while production rose by a modest amount.
I try to step back and gather research as my first step. For instance, I had a client who needed a graphic designer to work with Crello, which I had never seen before, let alone used. After getting the project details straight, I began meticulously studying the program the YouTube tutorials, and the quick course Crello provides. I also reached out to coworkers who had worked on projects for this same client in the past. Once I felt comfortable with the software, I started work immediately. It was a slower process because I had to be more methodical in my approach, but by putting in some extra hours, I turned in the project ahead of schedule. The client was thrilled with my work and was shocked to hear me joke afterward that it was my first time using Crello.
As a digital marketer , website traffic and conversion rates are my ultimate metrics. However, I also track less visible metrics that can illuminate the story behind the results. For instance, using Google Analytics, I found that 78% of our referral traffic was coming from one affiliate, but that these referrals were only accounting for 5% of our conversions. Another affiliate, who only accounted for about 10% of our referral traffic, was responsible for upwards of 30% of our conversions. I investigated further and found that the second, more effective affiliate was essentially qualifying our leads for us before sending them our way, which made it easier for us to close. I figured out exactly how they were sending us better customers, and reached out to the first, more prolific but less effective affiliate with my understanding of the results. They were able to change their pages that were referring us traffic, and our conversions from that source tripled in just a month. It showed me the importance of digging below the “big picture” metrics to see the mechanics of how revenue was really being generated through digital marketing.

You can bring up your problem-solving skills in your resume summary statement , in your work experience , and under your education section , if you’re a recent graduate. The key is to include items on your resume that speak direclty to your ability to solve problems and generate results.

If you can, quantify your problem-solving accomplishments on your your resume . Hiring managers and recruiters are always more impressed with results that include numbers because they provide much-needed context.

This sample resume for a Customer Service Representative will give you an idea of how you can work problem solving into your resume.

Michelle Beattle 111 Millennial Parkway Chicago, IL 60007 (555) 987-6543 [email protected] Professional Summary Qualified Customer Services Representative with 3 years in a high-pressure customer service environment. Professional, personable, and a true problem solver. Work History ABC Store — Customer Service Representative 01/2015 — 12/2017 Managed in-person and phone relations with customers coming in to pick up purchases, return purchased products, helped find and order items not on store shelves, and explained details and care of merchandise. Became a key player in the customer service department and was promoted to team lead. XYZ Store — Customer Service Representative/Night Manager 01/2018 — 03/2020, released due to Covid-19 layoffs Worked as the night manager of the customer service department and filled in daytime hours when needed. Streamlined a process of moving customers to the right department through an app to ease the burden on the phone lines and reduce customer wait time by 50%. Was working on additional wait time problems when the Covid-19 pandemic caused our stores to close permanently. Education Chicago Tech 2014-2016 Earned an Associate’s Degree in Principles of Customer Care Skills Strong customer service skills Excellent customer complaint resolution Stock record management Order fulfillment New product information Cash register skills and proficiency Leader in problem solving initiatives

You can see how the resume gives you a chance to point out your problem-solving skills and to show where you used them a few times. Your cover letter is your chance to introduce yourself and list a few things that make you stand out from the crowd.

Michelle Beattle 111 Millennial Parkway Chicago, IL 60007 (555) 987-6543 [email protected] Dear Mary McDonald, I am writing in response to your ad on Zippia for a Customer Service Representative . Thank you for taking the time to consider me for this position. Many people believe that a job in customer service is simply listening to people complain all day. I see the job as much more than that. It’s an opportunity to help people solve problems, make their experience with your company more enjoyable, and turn them into life-long advocates of your brand. Through my years of experience and my educational background at Chicago Tech, where I earned an Associate’s Degree in the Principles of Customer Care, I have learned that the customers are the lifeline of the business and without good customer service representatives, a business will falter. I see it as my mission to make each and every customer I come in contact with a fan. I have more than five years of experience in the Customer Services industry and had advanced my role at my last job to Night Manager. I am eager to again prove myself as a hard worker, a dedicated people person, and a problem solver that can be relied upon. I have built a professional reputation as an employee that respects all other employees and customers, as a manager who gets the job done and finds solutions when necessary, and a worker who dives in to learn all she can about the business. Most of my customers have been very satisfied with my resolution ideas and have returned to do business with us again. I believe my expertise would make me a great match for LMNO Store. I have enclosed my resume for your review, and I would appreciate having the opportunity to meet with you to further discuss my qualifications. Thank you again for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Michelle Beattle

You’ve no doubt noticed that many of the skills listed in the problem-solving process are repeated. This is because having these abilities or talents is so important to the entire course of getting a problem solved.

In fact, they’re worthy of a little more attention. Many of them are similar, so we’ll pull them together and discuss how they’re important and how they work together.

Communication, active listening, and customer service skills. No matter where you are in the process of problem-solving, you need to be able to show that you’re listening and engaged and really hearing what the problem is or what a solution may be.

Obviously, the other part of this is being able to communicate effectively so people understand what you’re saying without confusion. Rolled into this are customer service skills , which really are all about listening and responding appropriately — it’s the ultimate in interpersonal communications.

Analysis (data and historical), research, and topic knowledge/understanding. This is how you intellectually grasp the issue and approach it. This can come from studying the topic and the process or it can come from knowledge you’ve gained after years in the business. But the best solutions come from people who thoroughly understand the problem.

Creativity, brainstorming, troubleshooting, and flexibility. All of you creative thinkers will like this area because it’s when your brain is at its best.

Coming up with ideas, collaborating with others, leaping over hurdles, and then being able to change courses immediately, if need be, are all essential. If you’re not creative by nature, then having a team of diverse thinkers can help you in this area.

Dependability, believability, trustworthiness, and follow-through. Think about it, these are all traits a person needs to have to make change happen and to make you comfortable taking that next step with them. Someone who is shifty and shady and never follows through, well, you’re simply not going to do what they ask, are you?

Leadership, teambuilding, decision-making, and project management. These are the skills that someone who is in charge is brimming with. These are the leaders you enjoy working for because you know they’re doing what they can to keep everything in working order. These skills can be learned but they’re often innate.

Prioritizing, prediction, forecasting, evaluating and weighing, and process flow. If you love flow charts, data analysis, prediction modeling, and all of that part of the equation, then you might have some great problem-solving abilities.

These are all great skills because they can help you weed out bad ideas, see flaws, and save massive amounts of time in trial and error.

What is a good example of problem-solving skills?

Good examples of porblem-solving skills include research, analysis, creativity, communciation, and decision-making. Each of these skills build off one another to contribute to the problem solving process. Research and analysis allow you to identify a problem.

Creativity and analysis help you consider different solutions. Meanwhile, communication and decision-making are key to working with others to solve a problem on a large scale.

What are 3 key attributes of a good problem solver?

3 key attributes of a good problem solver are persistence, intellegince, and empathy. Persistence is crucial to remain motivated to work through challenges. Inellegince is needed to make smart, informed choices. Empathy is crucial to maintain positive relationships with others as well as yourself.

What can I say instead of problem-solving skills?

Instead of saying problem-solving skills, you can say the following:

Critical thinker

Solutions-oriented

Engineering

Using different words is helpful, especially when writing your resume and cover letter.

What is problem-solving in the workplace?

Problem-solving in the workplace is the ability to work through any sort of challenge, conflict, or unexpected situation and still achieve business goals. Though it varies by profession, roblem-solving in the workplace is very important for almost any job, because probelms are inevitable. You need to have the appropriate level of problem-solving skills if you want to succeed in your career, whatever it may be.

Department of Labor – Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

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Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.

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A problem is any unpleasant situation which prevents people from achieving what they want to achieve. Any activity to eliminate a problem is termed problem solving.

Problem solving skills refers to our ability to solve problems in an effective and timely manner without any impediments.

It involves being able to identify and define the problem, generating alternative solutions, evaluating and selecting the best alternative, and implementing the selected solution. Obtaining a feedback and responding to it appropriately is an essential aspect of problem solving skills too.

We face problems every time. However, some problems are more complex than others. But whether you face big problems or small ones, this skill helps solve it effectively.

Importance of problem solving skills

Obviously, every organization has problems and every individual has problems too. For this reason, the ability to solve problems is of great importance to individuals and organizations. Some of the benefits include:

  • Make the impossible possible.  Knowledge alone is not the key to solving problems but rather, complimenting it with systematic problem solving approaches makesthe difference. This helps individuals and organizations overcome perilous challenges.
  • Makes you a stand out.  People are trained to do the usual. They have acquired skills and knowledge in what they do. However, people can hardly solve problems when they are unexpected or unprecedented ones. If you become a regular problem solver at your workplace, you are easily noticed, recognized, and appreciated.
  • Increased confidence.  No matter where you work or what your profession is, having the ability to solve problems will boost your confidence level. Because you are sure of your ability to solve problems, you don’t spend time worrying about what you will do if a problem should arise.

How to improve upon problem solving skills

Just like any of the other skills, the art of problem solving can be learnt and improved upon. Below are few tips to help you improve this skill.

  • Detach yourself from the problem.  Don’t regard yourself as the problem itself and don’t presume you are incapacitated to solve the problem. See the problem as the enemy that has to be defeated by you.
  • Analyze it in parts and not as a whole.  Don’t see the problem as a whole big unit that needs to be fixed – That may deter you from attempting to solve it. Rather, break it into parts and tackle them step by step, and portion by portion. The little pieces you solve will add up to become the solution for the whole unit. For instance; if there’s turmoil in your organization, analyze the various aspects or departments of the organization. Choose one problematic area, such as communication, to start from. When that is fixed, you may move on to the other problematic areas.
  • Be inquisitive and investigative.  Being inquisitive and conducting thorough investigation and research helps you identify what the core of the problem is. In other words, it grants you access to the cause of the problem. Once the real cause of the problem is known, it becomes easier to solve it.
  • Be open to suggestions.  Other people’s contributions can be very helpful. It saves you the time of having to search for every piece of information that is needed.

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Problem Solving Skills: Meaning, Examples & Techniques

Table of Contents

26 January 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Do your children have trouble solving their Maths homework?

Or, do they struggle to maintain friendships at school?

If your answer is ‘Yes,’ the issue might be related to your child’s problem-solving abilities. Whether your child often forgets his/her lunch at school or is lagging in his/her class, good problem-solving skills can be a major tool to help them manage their lives better.

Children need to learn to solve problems on their own. Whether it is about dealing with academic difficulties or peer issues when children are equipped with necessary problem-solving skills they gain confidence and learn to make healthy decisions for themselves. So let us look at what is problem-solving, its benefits, and how to encourage your child to inculcate problem-solving abilities

Problem-solving skills can be defined as the ability to identify a problem, determine its cause, and figure out all possible solutions to solve the problem.

  • Trigonometric Problems

What is problem-solving, then? Problem-solving is the ability to use appropriate methods to tackle unexpected challenges in an organized manner. The ability to solve problems is considered a soft skill, meaning that it’s more of a personality trait than a skill you’ve learned at school, on-the-job, or through technical training. While your natural ability to tackle problems and solve them is something you were born with or began to hone early on, it doesn’t mean that you can’t work on it. This is a skill that can be cultivated and nurtured so you can become better at dealing with problems over time.

Problem Solving Skills: Meaning, Examples & Techniques are mentioned below in the Downloadable PDF. 

Benefits of learning problem-solving skills  

Promotes creative thinking and thinking outside the box.

Improves decision-making abilities.

Builds solid communication skills.

Develop the ability to learn from mistakes and avoid the repetition of mistakes.

Problem Solving as an ability is a life skill desired by everyone, as it is essential to manage our day-to-day lives. Whether you are at home, school, or work, life throws us curve balls at every single step of the way. And how do we resolve those? You guessed it right – Problem Solving.

Strengthening and nurturing problem-solving skills helps children cope with challenges and obstacles as they come. They can face and resolve a wide variety of problems efficiently and effectively without having a breakdown. Nurturing good problem-solving skills develop your child’s independence, allowing them to grow into confident, responsible adults. 

Children enjoy experimenting with a wide variety of situations as they develop their problem-solving skills through trial and error. A child’s action of sprinkling and pouring sand on their hands while playing in the ground, then finally mixing it all to eliminate the stickiness shows how fast their little minds work.

Sometimes children become frustrated when an idea doesn't work according to their expectations, they may even walk away from their project. They often become focused on one particular solution, which may or may not work.

However, they can be encouraged to try other methods of problem-solving when given support by an adult. The adult may give hints or ask questions in ways that help the kids to formulate their solutions. 

Encouraging Problem-Solving Skills in Kids

Practice problem solving through games.

Exposing kids to various riddles, mysteries, and treasure hunts, puzzles, and games not only enhances their critical thinking but is also an excellent bonding experience to create a lifetime of memories.

Create a safe environment for brainstorming

Welcome, all the ideas your child brings up to you. Children learn how to work together to solve a problem collectively when given the freedom and flexibility to come up with their solutions. This bout of encouragement instills in them the confidence to face obstacles bravely.

Invite children to expand their Learning capabilities

 Whenever children experiment with an idea or problem, they test out their solutions in different settings. They apply their teachings to new situations and effectively receive and communicate ideas. They learn the ability to think abstractly and can learn to tackle any obstacle whether it is finding solutions to a math problem or navigating social interactions.

Problem-solving is the act of finding answers and solutions to complicated problems. 

Developing problem-solving skills from an early age helps kids to navigate their life problems, whether academic or social more effectively and avoid mental and emotional turmoil.

Children learn to develop a future-oriented approach and view problems as challenges that can be easily overcome by exploring solutions. 

About Cuemath

Cuemath, a student-friendly mathematics and coding platform, conducts regular  Online Classes  for academics and skill-development, and their Mental Math App, on both  iOS  and  Android , is a one-stop solution for kids to develop multiple skills. Understand the Cuemath Fee structure and sign up for a free trial.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do you teach problem-solving skills.

Model a useful problem-solving method. Problem solving can be difficult and sometimes tedious. ... 1. Teach within a specific context. ... 2. Help students understand the problem. ... 3. Take enough time. ... 4. Ask questions and make suggestions. ... 5. Link errors to misconceptions.

What makes a good problem solver?

Excellent problem solvers build networks and know how to collaborate with other people and teams. They are skilled in bringing people together and sharing knowledge and information. A key skill for great problem solvers is that they are trusted by others.

Why is Problem Solving Skills Important to Learn?

What are problem solving skills? Problem solving skills can be defined as an act to define a problem, finding the root cause of the problem (including performing identification, setting a priority, and choosing the right solution alternatives), and implementing the solution that is chosen.

Problem solving skills are required not only in business life but also in daily lives. However, not many people think of this as a must-have set of skills of life. As a result, not many people are dealing with problems in a right way.

But why does problem solving skill become important? This is because this kind of skill will help us to resolve the dispute happening not only within our relationship with others, but also resolving the problems within ourselves.

According to some Kepner-Tregoe, problem solving is the main idea of human evolution. Problem solving abilities will make it possible to them to keep thriving. That is why an effective problem solving becomes important not only in working situation but also in the setting of daily life,

You might wonder ‘what is problem solving skills’ method that we have already talked about. Well, there are various sources mentioning different amount of procedures you need to do when it comes to problem solving. However, problem-solving skills include these items mentioned below:

  • Identifying the problem – Before getting too far, it’d be better to understand which kind of problem you are having.
  • Define the problem – What comes next as the team problem solving strategies is to define the problem. If the previous step resembles to learning the situation, this procedure equals to writing down what the true problem is. Doing so will help you to further understand what acts you need to take.
  • Exploring the problem – In this procedure, you are required to dig deeper what is causing the problem. By understanding what is there to fix, you can define what actions you need to take to start the fix.
  • Start taking action – After you list down what the problems are and what actions you can take to resolve the problem, do what you can do. It is better to be done as soon as possible than making the problems getting unresolved. Or, getting bigger.
  • Always look back – Once you’ve done what you can do in terms of resolving the problem, it’s time to evaluate yourself.

What You Can Get from Learning Problem Solving

As mentioned earlier, you can benefit many things from learning problem solving skills. Several benefits that you can get from that can be listed as follows:

  • First, you can make yourself more sensitive in terms of identifying problem.
  • Then, you will be used to brainstorm while thinking about any possible solutions.
  • Next, you may also get trained for testing the solutions first before implementing it wholly.
  • Lastly, by keeping the habit of ‘always look back’, you will learn that it is important to analyze results.

The Unexpected Benefit from Problem Solving

Now you know that learning problem solving skills will leave you nothing but some great benefits. But do you know that learning problem solving skills in the workplace will also give you the opportunity to grow yourself?

This is because the problem solving skills definition , example, and benefits mentioned above told you that it is important to always learn retrospectively and progressively. While you can learn how to learn in a retrospective way, progressively learning can help you to grow and learn a lot from your previous mistakes.

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What Is Creative Problem-Solving & Why Is It Important?

Business team using creative problem-solving

  • 01 Feb 2022

One of the biggest hindrances to innovation is complacency—it can be more comfortable to do what you know than venture into the unknown. Business leaders can overcome this barrier by mobilizing creative team members and providing space to innovate.

There are several tools you can use to encourage creativity in the workplace. Creative problem-solving is one of them, which facilitates the development of innovative solutions to difficult problems.

Here’s an overview of creative problem-solving and why it’s important in business.

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What Is Creative Problem-Solving?

Research is necessary when solving a problem. But there are situations where a problem’s specific cause is difficult to pinpoint. This can occur when there’s not enough time to narrow down the problem’s source or there are differing opinions about its root cause.

In such cases, you can use creative problem-solving , which allows you to explore potential solutions regardless of whether a problem has been defined.

Creative problem-solving is less structured than other innovation processes and encourages exploring open-ended solutions. It also focuses on developing new perspectives and fostering creativity in the workplace . Its benefits include:

  • Finding creative solutions to complex problems : User research can insufficiently illustrate a situation’s complexity. While other innovation processes rely on this information, creative problem-solving can yield solutions without it.
  • Adapting to change : Business is constantly changing, and business leaders need to adapt. Creative problem-solving helps overcome unforeseen challenges and find solutions to unconventional problems.
  • Fueling innovation and growth : In addition to solutions, creative problem-solving can spark innovative ideas that drive company growth. These ideas can lead to new product lines, services, or a modified operations structure that improves efficiency.

Design Thinking and Innovation | Uncover creative solutions to your business problems | Learn More

Creative problem-solving is traditionally based on the following key principles :

1. Balance Divergent and Convergent Thinking

Creative problem-solving uses two primary tools to find solutions: divergence and convergence. Divergence generates ideas in response to a problem, while convergence narrows them down to a shortlist. It balances these two practices and turns ideas into concrete solutions.

2. Reframe Problems as Questions

By framing problems as questions, you shift from focusing on obstacles to solutions. This provides the freedom to brainstorm potential ideas.

3. Defer Judgment of Ideas

When brainstorming, it can be natural to reject or accept ideas right away. Yet, immediate judgments interfere with the idea generation process. Even ideas that seem implausible can turn into outstanding innovations upon further exploration and development.

4. Focus on "Yes, And" Instead of "No, But"

Using negative words like "no" discourages creative thinking. Instead, use positive language to build and maintain an environment that fosters the development of creative and innovative ideas.

Creative Problem-Solving and Design Thinking

Whereas creative problem-solving facilitates developing innovative ideas through a less structured workflow, design thinking takes a far more organized approach.

Design thinking is a human-centered, solutions-based process that fosters the ideation and development of solutions. In the online course Design Thinking and Innovation , Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar leverages a four-phase framework to explain design thinking.

The four stages are:

The four stages of design thinking: clarify, ideate, develop, and implement

  • Clarify: The clarification stage allows you to empathize with the user and identify problems. Observations and insights are informed by thorough research. Findings are then reframed as problem statements or questions.
  • Ideate: Ideation is the process of coming up with innovative ideas. The divergence of ideas involved with creative problem-solving is a major focus.
  • Develop: In the development stage, ideas evolve into experiments and tests. Ideas converge and are explored through prototyping and open critique.
  • Implement: Implementation involves continuing to test and experiment to refine the solution and encourage its adoption.

Creative problem-solving primarily operates in the ideate phase of design thinking but can be applied to others. This is because design thinking is an iterative process that moves between the stages as ideas are generated and pursued. This is normal and encouraged, as innovation requires exploring multiple ideas.

Creative Problem-Solving Tools

While there are many useful tools in the creative problem-solving process, here are three you should know:

Creating a Problem Story

One way to innovate is by creating a story about a problem to understand how it affects users and what solutions best fit their needs. Here are the steps you need to take to use this tool properly.

1. Identify a UDP

Create a problem story to identify the undesired phenomena (UDP). For example, consider a company that produces printers that overheat. In this case, the UDP is "our printers overheat."

2. Move Forward in Time

To move forward in time, ask: “Why is this a problem?” For example, minor damage could be one result of the machines overheating. In more extreme cases, printers may catch fire. Don't be afraid to create multiple problem stories if you think of more than one UDP.

3. Move Backward in Time

To move backward in time, ask: “What caused this UDP?” If you can't identify the root problem, think about what typically causes the UDP to occur. For the overheating printers, overuse could be a cause.

Following the three-step framework above helps illustrate a clear problem story:

  • The printer is overused.
  • The printer overheats.
  • The printer breaks down.

You can extend the problem story in either direction if you think of additional cause-and-effect relationships.

4. Break the Chains

By this point, you’ll have multiple UDP storylines. Take two that are similar and focus on breaking the chains connecting them. This can be accomplished through inversion or neutralization.

  • Inversion: Inversion changes the relationship between two UDPs so the cause is the same but the effect is the opposite. For example, if the UDP is "the more X happens, the more likely Y is to happen," inversion changes the equation to "the more X happens, the less likely Y is to happen." Using the printer example, inversion would consider: "What if the more a printer is used, the less likely it’s going to overheat?" Innovation requires an open mind. Just because a solution initially seems unlikely doesn't mean it can't be pursued further or spark additional ideas.
  • Neutralization: Neutralization completely eliminates the cause-and-effect relationship between X and Y. This changes the above equation to "the more or less X happens has no effect on Y." In the case of the printers, neutralization would rephrase the relationship to "the more or less a printer is used has no effect on whether it overheats."

Even if creating a problem story doesn't provide a solution, it can offer useful context to users’ problems and additional ideas to be explored. Given that divergence is one of the fundamental practices of creative problem-solving, it’s a good idea to incorporate it into each tool you use.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a tool that can be highly effective when guided by the iterative qualities of the design thinking process. It involves openly discussing and debating ideas and topics in a group setting. This facilitates idea generation and exploration as different team members consider the same concept from multiple perspectives.

Hosting brainstorming sessions can result in problems, such as groupthink or social loafing. To combat this, leverage a three-step brainstorming method involving divergence and convergence :

  • Have each group member come up with as many ideas as possible and write them down to ensure the brainstorming session is productive.
  • Continue the divergence of ideas by collectively sharing and exploring each idea as a group. The goal is to create a setting where new ideas are inspired by open discussion.
  • Begin the convergence of ideas by narrowing them down to a few explorable options. There’s no "right number of ideas." Don't be afraid to consider exploring all of them, as long as you have the resources to do so.

Alternate Worlds

The alternate worlds tool is an empathetic approach to creative problem-solving. It encourages you to consider how someone in another world would approach your situation.

For example, if you’re concerned that the printers you produce overheat and catch fire, consider how a different industry would approach the problem. How would an automotive expert solve it? How would a firefighter?

Be creative as you consider and research alternate worlds. The purpose is not to nail down a solution right away but to continue the ideation process through diverging and exploring ideas.

Which HBS Online Entrepreneurship and Innovation Course is Right for You? | Download Your Free Flowchart

Continue Developing Your Skills

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, marketer, or business leader, learning the ropes of design thinking can be an effective way to build your skills and foster creativity and innovation in any setting.

If you're ready to develop your design thinking and creative problem-solving skills, explore Design Thinking and Innovation , one of our online entrepreneurship and innovation courses. If you aren't sure which course is the right fit, download our free course flowchart to determine which best aligns with your goals.

significance of problem solving skills

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Problem-solving and decision-making: skills every leader must have.

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While there are many qualities that go into creating an effective leader, problem-solving and decision-making stand out as key components. An organization, team, or project's success can be determined by a leader's capacity to overcome obstacles and make wise decisions. We will discuss the importance of these abilities in this post, as well as how leaders can develop them to succeed in their positions.

Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: Skills Every Leader Must Have

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Problem Solving: Essential Skills for Success

Veejay Ssudhan

Veejay Ssudhan

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Problem-solving is a critical skillset that plays a vital role in both personal and professional success. Regardless of the industry or field, individuals who excel in problem-solving possess a valuable asset that enables them to navigate challenges, make informed decisions, and drive positive outcomes. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of problem-solving skills and highlight key strategies for effective problem-solving approach to life. We discuss how developing these skills can contribute to overall success.

The Significance of Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving skills are essential in various aspects of life. Whether it’s resolving conflicts, overcoming obstacles, or making strategic decisions, individuals who possess strong problem-solving abilities can tackle complex situations with confidence and efficiency.

Here are a few reasons why these skills are crucial for success:

Decision Making : Effective problem solving involves evaluating available options, analyzing consequences, and making informed decisions. The ability to weigh pros and cons, identify potential risks, and select the most viable solutions enables individuals to make sound choices in both personal and professional settings.

Critical Thinking: Problem-solving is closely intertwined with critical thinking. By honing critical thinking skills, individuals can approach problems from multiple perspectives, evaluate evidence, and draw logical conclusions. This helps in developing well-reasoned arguments, identifying root causes, and finding innovative solutions.

Adaptability: Problem-solving skills allow individuals to adapt to changing circumstances and environments. The capacity to think on one’s feet, generate creative solutions, and adjust strategies as needed is particularly valuable in today’s fast-paced and dynamic world.

Effective Communication: Strong problem-solving skills are often accompanied by effective communication. Being able to articulate problems, discuss potential solutions, and collaborate with others fosters productive teamwork, enhances relationships, and paves the way for successful outcomes.

 MuchSkills These are the skills employers are ...

Strategies for Effective Problem Solving

Developing effective problem-solving skills requires a combination of mindset, techniques, and practice. Let’s explore some key strategies that can help individuals enhance their problem-solving abilities:

  • Define the Problem: Begin by clearly defining the problem or challenge at hand. Identify the specific issue, its scope, and any constraints or limitations. A well-defined problem provides a solid foundation for subsequent problem-solving steps.
  • Gather Information: Collect relevant information and data related to the problem. This may involve research, conducting interviews, consulting experts, or analyzing existing resources. A comprehensive understanding of the problem facilitates more accurate analysis and solution development.
  • Analyze the Situation: Break down the problem into its components and analyze each aspect. This may involve identifying underlying causes, recognizing patterns, or conducting a thorough examination of available information. Analyzing the situation helps in identifying potential solutions and assessing their viability.
  • Generate Potential Solutions : Brainstorm a range of potential solutions without evaluating them initially. Encourage creativity and explore diverse perspectives. The goal is to generate a broad pool of ideas before narrowing down to the most feasible options.

Approach to finding Options and Solutions

  • Evaluate Options: Assess the strengths and weaknesses of each potential solution. Consider the potential risks, benefits, and resources required for implementation. This evaluation process helps in selecting the most appropriate solution based on feasibility and desired outcomes.
  • Implement the Solution: Develop a plan of action to implement the chosen solution. Assign responsibilities, set timelines, and allocate resources as needed. Effective implementation requires clear communication, collaboration, and a well-defined strategy.
  • Monitor and Adjust: Continuously monitor the progress of the implemented solution and assess its effectiveness. If necessary, make adjustments and modifications based on feedback and ongoing evaluation. Flexibility and adaptability are key to ensuring the desired outcomes are achieved.
  • Learn from Experience: Reflection is a vital part of problem solving. After a problem has been resolved, take the time to evaluate the process and outcomes. Identify lessons learned, areas for improvement, and strategies that were particularly effective. This reflection enables continuous learning and growth as a problem solver.

7 Benefits That Highlight The Importance Of Soft Skills In The Workplace

The Benefits of Developing Skills

Developing strong problem-solving skills brings numerous benefits that contribute to overall success in personal and professional realms. Let’s delve into some of these benefits:

  • Enhanced Efficiency: Effective problem solving leads to streamlined processes and efficient use of resources. By addressing problems promptly and developing sound solutions, individuals can save time, minimize wastage, and optimize productivity.
  • Increased Innovation: These skills often go hand in hand with innovation. The ability to think creatively, generate unique ideas, and approach challenges from different angles fosters innovation and drives progress.
  • Improved Leadership: Strong skills are a hallmark of effective leaders. Leaders who can identify and address problems proactively, make data-driven decisions, and inspire others to solve challenges create a positive and productive work environment.
  • Better Collaboration: Problem solving often requires collaboration and teamwork. Individuals with strong skills can effectively communicate ideas, work collaboratively, and resolve conflicts, fostering a harmonious and cooperative work environment.
  • Heightened Confidence: Successfully solving problems boosts confidence and self-assurance. Individuals who have overcome challenges through effective problem-solving feel empowered, capable, and more resilient in the face of future obstacles.
  • Career Advancement: Employers highly value problem-solving skills, and individuals who excel in this area often experience greater career advancement opportunities. Problem-solving abilities demonstrate a candidate’s potential to handle complex tasks, make strategic decisions, and contribute to organizational success.

Enhancing Solution driven Skills

To enhance problem-solving skills, individuals can adopt the following strategies:

  • Embrace a Growth Mindset: Cultivate a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities for growth and improvement. Embrace the belief that problem-solving skills can be developed and refined with practice and perseverance.
  • Seek Learning Opportunities: Engage in activities that encourage critical thinking, such as puzzles, riddles, or strategy games. Additionally, seek out training programs, workshops, or online courses that focus on problem-solving techniques.
  • Collaborate and Seek Feedback: Collaborate with others to solve problems collectively. Engaging in group problem-solving exercises allows for different perspectives and the exchange of ideas. Additionally, seek feedback from mentors or colleagues to gain insights and identify areas for improvement.
  • Reflect and Learn: After solving a problem, take the time to reflect on the process. Consider what worked well, what could have been done differently, and what lessons can be applied to future situations. Regular reflection strengthens problem-solving skills over time.
  • Transferable Skills: Industries such as Jewelry involve prototyping, creating and displaying the products for customers.  Teaching is one of the way you can address problem solving abilities.

How to List Problem Solving Skills on your resume?

When listing problem-solving skills on your resume, it’s important to effectively communicate your abilities to potential employers. Here are some tips on how to showcase your  skills in a clear and impactful manner:

  • Use the right keywords: Incorporate relevant keywords related to problem-solving skills throughout your resume. Common keywords include “critical thinking,” “analytical skills,” “solution-oriented,” “troubleshooting,” “decision-making,” and “innovation .” These keywords will catch the attention of hiring managers and help them quickly identify your capabilities.
  • Highlight specific examples: Rather than simply stating that you have these skills, provide concrete examples of situations where you utilized these skills effectively. Describe the problem or challenge you faced, the actions you took to address it, and the positive outcomes that resulted from your problem-solving approach. Be concise and specific in your descriptions.
  • Showcase results: Emphasize the positive impact your  skills have had in previous roles . Quantify the results whenever possible. For example, mention how your abilities improved efficiency, reduced costs, increased productivity, or resolved customer issues. Demonstrating the tangible benefits of your problem-solving skills adds credibility to your resume.

Update your  Skills according to Jobs

  • Tailor to the job description: Customize your resume to align with the specific job requirements . Review the job description carefully and identify the key problem-solving skills sought by the employer. Then, highlight relevant experiences and accomplishments that showcase your proficiency in those specific areas. Rather than randomly applying for any job, paying attention to job description will be helpful.
  • Include a skills section: Create a dedicated skills section on your resume where you explicitly list your problem-solving skills. Use bullet points to make the skills easily scannable. Consider categorizing your skills into subheadings such as “Analytical Skills,” “Creativity and Innovation,” or “Decision Making.”
  • Provide context: If you have undergone training or certification programs that have enhanced your problem-solving skills, mention them in the education or certification section of your resume. Include the name of the program, the duration, and any notable achievements or learnings.

Remember to present your problem-solving skills in a concise and compelling manner. Use action verbs to describe your problem-solving activities and results. By effectively showcasing your problem-solving skills on your resume, you can demonstrate to potential employers that you have the abilities necessary to tackle challenges and contribute to their organization’s success.

Jobs that Require Problem Solving Skills

Problem-solving skills are highly valued across a wide range of professions and industries. Here are some examples of jobs that typically require strong problem-solving abilities:

  • Management Consultant: Management consultants work with clients to identify and solve complex business problems. They analyze data, develop strategies, and provide recommendations to improve organizational performance.
  • Software Developer: Software developers encounter various challenges during the development process, including debugging code, optimizing performance, and resolving technical issues. Problem-solving skills are crucial for identifying and implementing effective solutions.
  • Engineer: Engineers of all disciplines, such as civil, mechanical, electrical, or software engineering, encounter problems that require innovative solutions. They design, analyze, and improve systems, structures, and processes to address specific challenges.
  • Project Manager: Project managers are responsible for planning, executing, and completing projects within defined constraints. They need strong problem-solving skills to overcome obstacles, manage risks, and ensure successful project delivery.
  • Data Analyst: Data analysts use their problem-solving skills to extract insights from complex datasets. They identify trends, patterns, and correlations, and help organizations make data-driven decisions.

When you looking for volunteering to beef up your resume, these problem solving skills will be helpful . Gaining experience in different conditions and jobs can strengthen your candidature for job.

Other Jobs requiring Solving Skills

  • Financial Analyst: Financial analysts analyze financial data, identify trends, and evaluate investment opportunities. They use problem-solving skills to assess risks, develop financial models, and provide recommendations.
  • Healthcare Professional: Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals encounter complex medical situations that require critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They diagnose illnesses, develop treatment plans, and make decisions to ensure the well-being of patients.
  • Sales Manager: Sales managers encounter challenges related to market competition, customer objections, and achieving sales targets. They use problem-solving skills to identify opportunities, develop sales strategies, and overcome obstacles.
  • Research Scientist: Research scientists conduct experiments, analyze data, and draw conclusions to solve scientific problems. They need strong problem-solving skills to design experiments, interpret results, and develop new scientific theories or technologies.
  • Marketing Manager: Marketing managers face challenges related to market trends, consumer behavior, and brand positioning. They use problem-solving skills to develop marketing strategies, address market changes, and optimize campaigns.
  • Customer Relationship Manager : Customer Relation Managers play a critical role in handling the customer complaints, focusing on the customer issues and solving them their needs and wants. They leverage problem solving skills to apply the solutions to address any issues they face.

It’s important to note that problem-solving skills are valuable in virtually any profession, as challenges and complexities arise in various aspects of work. Whether you’re in a technical role, a creative field, or a customer-facing position, the ability to effectively solve problems is highly sought after and can contribute to success in your chosen career.

Problem-solving skills are essential for success in all aspects of life. By honing these skills, individuals can approach challenges with confidence, make informed decisions, and drive positive outcomes. Developing effective skills requires a combination of mindset, techniques, and practice. You need to embrace a growth mindset, seeking learning opportunities and collaborating with others.

Taking time to reflect on experiences, individuals can continually improve their problem-solving abilities and reap the benefits of enhanced efficiency, innovation, and career advancement. Embrace problem-solving as a key competency and unlock your potential for success.

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Home » Job Tips » Career Advice » Your Complete Guide to Effective Problem Solving Skills [Tips & Techniques]

Your Complete Guide to Effective Problem Solving Skills [Tips & Techniques]

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Having effective problem solving skills can be a big boon for your professional life. Most employers look for candidates who are capable of solving problems the right way with less supervision.

Possessing the capacity to confidently and quickly tackle complex issues requires having several key abilities at your disposal. With study and practice, you can learn how best to approach difficult problems in order to solve them successfully.

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the importance of problem-solving skills, effective problem-solving strategies, and ways to develop and refine your problem-solving techniques.

Table of Contents

What are Problem-Solving Skills?

Problem-solving skills are techniques that enable you to solve any problem effectively. With good problem-solving skills, individuals can adequately determine the source of problems and proffer solutions. This empowers an individual to approach issues from different viable perspectives.

Effective problem solvers are critical thinkers, perceptive, and knowledgeable, which enables them to break down challenging circumstances into manageable components. To excel in your career you need to hone, build, and develop adequate problem-solving skills. You can build personal development skills in order to develop competent problem-solving abilities.

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Must-Have Problem-Solving Techniques

To be an effective problem solver, you must have other creative and smart abilities, below are a few smart and creative skills you can use when solving a problem:

1. Strong Research Skills

To fully understand a problem and create viable solutions, a problem solver must be able to locate and identify the root cause of a problem. As a problem solver, you might need to conduct research using a lot of problem solving methods. You can start by asking your peers for input and using web resources to conduct thorough research.

2. Analyzing and Evaluation

The ability to analyze and evaluate solutions is a typical example of a problem-solving skill. This skill will allow you to investigate several solutions and select the most suitable one for your problem.

3. Effective Communication and Active Listening

After determining the best solution to the problem, the next step would be to communicate it to the relevant stakeholders and develop a plan of action for implementing the solution. The ability to adequately solve a problem requires strong communication skills.

Possessing strong communication skills implies that one should have clear goals and deadlines for addressing a problem. Communication should also include any effects the solution may have on other parts of the organization or external stakeholders.

4. Reliability

As a problem solver, being reliable and adaptable is a trait prized by employers. Those who have the problem solving ability to identify issues, implement solutions efficiently, and do so in a timely manner are held in high regard. It is paramount for problem-solvers to possess adaptability as well because it assures that tasks will be carried out with accuracy and creativity.

Effective Problem-Solving Steps

The following tips will help you develop effective problem-solving skills that any employer would value.

1. Identification and Definition of Problem

To become an effective problem solver, you must know how to identify and recognize problems. Identifying a problem can be tough. You may find yourself asking questions like, “Is there even an issue here?” and if so, “What is its nature?”

To get the clearest understanding possible of any potential problems, take some time to really define exactly what the problems are. Doing this will not only help you grasp them better but also allow you to explain them accurately when communicating with others.

2. Gather Information and Organise the Problem

Once a problem has been identified and defined, it is ideal to gather more facts and information about the problem to get a better understanding of the problem. Gaining additional knowledge about a problem allows you to come up with various approaches to it as well as potential solutions. It involves observing, analyzing, and structuring the issue or situation at hand. During this phase, it is important to gather as much evidence about the problem and its causes in order to make sound judgments when selecting a course of action.

3. Generate Varieties of Potential Solutions to the Problem

Once you have successfully identified and gathered information on the existing problem, your next course of action will be brainstorming and developing different viable solutions to the problem. It is important to consider the perspectives of other teammates because different people in organizations will have diverse skills and perceptions about a problem and, thus, will have different solutions.

4. Careful Analysis and Taking Decision

Before making decisions, you should analyze all the solutions generated and then select the best course of action. To successfully make the right decision, the complexity of decision-making should be considered. This is because many circumstances can prevent a decision from being successful, even if it is the right one.

Remember that while some solutions might seem appropriate, they may not be appropriate to adopt at the stipulated time frame. This might be due to other variables like a lack of resources, the culture of the organization, a limited time frame, etc.

5. Implementing the Decision

After a thorough analysis has been made, and you have finally made a decision, the next step is to act on the decision you have chosen. It is important to note that more issues could develop during implementation. Especially if the identification or structuring of the original problem wasn’t done thoroughly.

6. Evaluate the Outcomes of the Decision

Verifying that the decision taken was effective is the focus of this phase of problem-solving. Asking those who were impacted by the changes of an outcome and how they felt about it is an effective way to evaluate the outcome of a decision.

Further, keeping track of results and any extra issues that come up is a good way to hone your problem solving skills. To effectively evaluate the outcome of your decision consider answering these questions below:

  • Have you achieved the objectives of the decision taken?
  • Did any unplanned or unforeseen situation arise in your decision-making process?

7. Improve and Reiterate

To master the art of problem-solving, look for other situations that permit you to use techniques and skills for solving problems. Find more chances to put the skills into action. Also when solving a problem make sure the issue won’t recur and share the lessons learned. This will enhance your problem solving skills. An ideal way to cultivate good problem solving skills is to take on challenging jobs that require cognitive processing such as business marketing or work-from-home jobs in data entry .

How Can I Demonstrate My Problem-Solving Skills?

Employers can learn more about how you might contribute to their team more quickly if you demonstrate your problem-solving abilities in your resume and cover letter.

1. How to Demonstrate Problem Solving Skills on a Resume?

In the ‘Achievements’ section of your resume, it is beneficial to provide concrete examples of how you have successfully solved problems. Emphasize how your knowledge and strategic thinking positively impacted a business situation or project outcome instead of simply saying that you are great at problem-solving.

The ‘Experience’ section allows for more expansion about any relevant projects where your problem-solving abilities were beneficial in completion or success rates. Conversely, if there was an unsuccessful result due to poor decision making then explain what corrective actions were taken as well as lessons learned.

2. How to Demonstrate Problem Solving Skills on Cover Letter?

Your cover letter is an incredible opportunity to expand on your problem solving capabilities. Here, you can give a concise example of when you efficiently handled a difficulty. On the other hand, you might recognize an issue that this potential employer wants to solve and explain how exactly you would address it. For instance, if there’s evidence in a job vacancy concerning improving brand awareness, then identifying ways where you could help promote awareness about the brand through various means will be an advantage for you.

Having problem solving skills is a huge advantage that can be extremely beneficial in both your personal and professional life. Problem-solving gives you the tools to make better decisions, identify solutions for roadblocks, and reach desired goals more easily. To effectively improve your problem solving skills consider taking a human resource management course .

We hope these tips will help build and improve your problem handling skills, let us know in the comment section the different problem you have solved at your workplace.

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significance of problem solving skills

Harshita is an English Literature graduate from the University of Delhi with 3 years of experience in Content Writing and Editing. Dedicated to her craft, she loves creating magic with words. She is a big fan of hoarding cute planners and journals and can be seen watching FRIENDS (almost EVERYTIME) in her spare time. Her meticulous attention to detail makes her stand out from the crowd. A typo epidemic is her worst nightmare!

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Importance Of Problem-Solving Skills In The Workplace

significance of problem solving skills

November 10, 2022

Oxford Languages defines problem-solving as the process of finding solutions that help resolve complicated issues. Problems needing solutions vary from fundamental personal issues of "how do I turn on this laptop?" to more complex topics in academics and business.

What are problem-solving skills?

Problem-solving skills help us solve issues quickly and effectively and hold much importance in our personal and professional lives.

As humans, we all deal with problems. Even if we do not know how to fix the problem, we can process it and understand why it happened in the first place.

Then, we can apply logic to find some solutions to resolve it—no wonder most employers seek problem-solving skills in candidates. Solving problems is beneficial in almost every job role and can help support competency management .

Competency Management

What do problem-solving skills in the workplace look like?

At the core of business development, problem-solving skills enable employees to leverage the available resources to arrive at a solution productively that syncs with the company's integrity. Some examples of problem-solving in the workplace include:

  • Handling and resolving a conflict with a coworker
  • Troubleshooting and eliminating technical issues in a work laptop
  • Solving any problems related to accounting, taxation, and customer billing
  • Taking the initiative when a team member missed or overlooked something important
  • Extracting a new piece of data that can guide a company's strategy in a specific area

In a nutshell, problem-solving is a part of everyone's work - whether they are a manager with years of experience or starting their first job. It may test your critical-thinking skills or involve the use of mathematical operations.

Why are problem-solving skills important in the workplace?

When prospective employers talk about problem-solving, their goal is to measure how candidates support the decision-making process in the company's everyday functioning by applying this skill. Here are four reasons why problem-solving is an important skill to have in the workplace:

1. Strategy prioritization, planning, and execution

Efficient problem-solvers can carefully assess customer requirements and put together a plan that helps them provide a brilliant service to their intended audience. Their forte lies in streamlining processes by removing bottlenecks.

2. Out-of-the-box thinking

Problem-solving and creative thinking go hand-in-hand. It is not a matter of putting a bandaid over an issue but finding a way to fix it dynamically and creatively. This attitude helps the business stay ahead of the curve and improves the workforce's capability over time.

3. Better time management

When a problem arises, it needs to be fixed at the earliest. Employees with excellent problem-solving skills are laser-focused on what is vital to the business and can roll with the punches and tight deadlines to deliver when it matters.

4. Risk management

Planning effectively is an essential problem-solving skill to have. Problem-solvers can react quickly to short-term situations without losing sight of the future. Their positive attitude towards learning agility helps them anticipate problems that may arise in the future based on past experiences, industry trends and patterns, and current events.

Learning Agility

What are the four stages of problem-solving in the workplace?

Understanding the critical components involved in problem-solving will help you better demonstrate your expertise to your managers. Businesses rely on people who can assess different types of situations and calmly identify solutions. Strong problem-solvers are a valuable addition to any team. Here are the four stages of problem-solving that you must know about:

1. Understand the problem

First, analyze the situation carefully to learn more about the problem. Many employees jump to providing solutions before determining the cause of the problem. Try anticipating the behavior and response of the people affected by it.

Based on your preliminary observation, undertake the following activities to pinpoint the problem more accurately:

  • Separate facts from opinions.
  • Analyze company policies and procedures.
  • Determine the process where the problem exists.
  • Discuss with team members involved to gather more information.

When defining a problem, please stay focused on it rather than define it in terms of a solution at this stage. For instance, if the sales numbers need to be consistent in the next quarter, simply say the sales numbers are inconsistent.

A quick way to verify whether you understand what you are dealing with is to explain it to a fellow team member. This ties into your communication skills. If you can talk about the issue clearly with others, it means you understand the case in your hands.

Depending on the complexity of the problem, you may want to use flowcharts or cause-and-effect graphs to define the problem and its root causes.

2. List all possible solutions

Workplace solutions are either strategic or tactical. A strategic solution is a long-term fix for an issue. This requires you to take a series of steps to process the entire architecture of the problem.

On the other hand, a tactical solution is more of a short-term fix. It could be as simple as reusing a piece of code from your last development project to eliminate the irritating error message in your new one.

Brainstorm all possible ways to solve the existing problem. Problem-solving delivers better results with cognitive diversity . Therefore, make sure you get the team members affected by it and those who may have more experience with the type of challenge you are facing to brainstorm potential solutions. Conduct discussions face-to-face or virtually and use surveys.

Cognitive Diversity

Spot and remove every aspect that slows down your problem-solving. Ensure the ideas and suggestions put forward to align with the relevant goals and objectives. Create a list of 5-8 long-term and short-term solutions.

3. Evaluate the solutions

Assess the pros and cons of each solution and identify the resources required for their implementation, including personnel, time allocation, budget constraints, and data requirements. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Is the solution practical and easy to implement?
  • Is it acceptable to everyone involved?
  • Does it solve the problem smoothly without creating another problem?
  • Does it fit within the company's procedures and policies?

The ability to promptly evaluate solutions ties into your management skills. Train yourself to identify as many parameters as possible, such as duration, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and practicality, so you can come up with the most effective solution in a shorter period.

4. Implement and monitor the progress of the chosen solution

Create an action plan to implement the solution. Define its objectives and divide them into measurable targets for monitoring the implementation. Set timelines for implementation. Communicate the plan to everyone involved.

After that, continuously monitor the progress to ensure your solution works. Gather feedback from others and data to check whether the solution helps resolve the problem. You may need to adjust the resolution if anything unexpected arises, so please be prepared for that.

What are the critical problem-solving skills in the workplace?

Problem-solving skills enable you to seek and engage candidates who are cognitively equipped to handle anything their jobs throw at them. Problem solvers can observe, judge, and act quickly when the situation demands it- without negatively impacting the business. Here are the top problem-solving skills in the workplace:

1. Decision-making prowess

Decision-making skills are an essential part of problem-solving. That is because you can only solve it if you wholly understand the problem and decide to do something about it. Decision-making skills help professionals quickly choose between two or more alternatives after evaluating the pros and cons of each.

2. Communication

Successfully communicating the problem and recommending solutions for it verbally and in writing is an art in itself. Proper communication ensures solutions are carried out effectively, and everyone involved in the conflict is on the same page.

3. Open-mindedness

Open-mindedness is essentially the willingness to look at things from a different perspective and consider new ideas. When you have a problem in front of you, review its various aspects to come up with the best solution possible. Being curious and aware helps one be a better problem-solver.

4. Analytics skills

Nearly all problem-solving cases require some form of analysis - forecasting, critical thinking, or troubleshooting. Analytical skills empower you to understand the problem better and develop practical solutions based on facts and evidence.

5. Teamwork

Collaboration is the key to ensuring communication lines are always open, problems are addressed cooperatively, and the team's objectives precede personal goals.

Team dynamics are critical to problem-solving as it helps you work well with others towards a common goal. Necessary collaboration skills include conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, empathy, sensitivity, and respect.

Over to you

In hiring, pre-employment aptitude tests assess qualities critical to most jobs, such as critical thinking, abstract reasoning, attention to detail, and so on. Problem-solving, specifically, is also a significant predictor of job performance .

However, this skill is as varied as the issues it is applied to. The best problem solvers use the same basic approach to identify and solve problems and incorporate all the skills and steps discussed in the blog post for successful results.

Adaface's aptitude tests help evaluate a candidate's ability to understand instruction, analyze the information at hand, and respond to complicated situations or problems.

The questions are designed to fetch insights into the candidates' problem-solving and coachability. Check them out!

  • Problem-solving test
  • Logical reasoning test
  • Critical thinking test

Asavari is an EiR at Adaface. She has made it her mission to help recruiters deploy candidate-friendly skill tests instead of trick-question based tests. When taking a break, she obsesses over art.

Spending too much time screening candidates?

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Problem-Solving

When do children learn problem solving?

Learning & Cognitive Skills

8 to 11 months

Sorting & Matching, Stacking, Executive Function, Concentration

From tackling a complex project at work to figuring out how to manage your busy schedule, every day you use problem-solving skills like critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity. How did you learn these skills? Just as your child will: through exploration and play. Support their problem-solving skills through activities that let them independently try new things, learn from their mistakes, and test out different ways of thinking.

In this article:

What is problem-solving?

What are examples of problem-solving skills.

  • When do children develop problem-solving skills? 

Why are problem-solving skills important in child development?

  • Problem-solving games & activities for babies and toddlers

Problem-solving and frustration tolerance

Developmental concerns with problem-solving.

Problem-solving is the process by which your child spots a problem and comes up with a solution to overcome it. Your child uses problem-solving skills in all sorts of contexts, from figuring out how to get a ball out of a cup to interacting with a child who took their toy. 

Children don’t inherently understand different approaches to solving problems—these skills develop gradually over time, starting in the earliest days of life. As your child gains experience, tests out strategies, plays with various materials, and watches people around them, they learn how to problem-solve. 

Think about strategies you might use to tackle a project at work—for example, creating an outline, breaking the project into steps, or delegating tasks. With your help, your child will develop problem-solving skills like these:

  • Breaking a large problem into smaller steps
  • Persevering through challenges or setbacks
  • Using creativity to think “outside the box” about different solutions
  • Being resourceful by using available items as tools to reach a goal 
  • Taking the initiative to try a possible solution and see if it works
  • Seeking help when you get stuck
  • Using compromise or negotiation to help resolve a conflict
  • Using critical thinking to discover what the next step should be

When do children develop problem-solving skills? 

As early as 8 to 11 months, you may see the earliest signs of your child’s problem-solving skills at work. If you hide a toy under a blanket or basket, for example, they may use basic problem-solving to try to uncover it. 

As a toddler, your child will grow more experienced with different types of playthings and the challenges they offer. They’ll also develop more focus and patience to work through problems on their own. Support their emerging problem-solving skills by observing their efforts—without stepping in right away to help. It’s tempting to intervene when you see your toddler struggle to fit the pieces of a puzzle, align blocks so they won’t fall, or get a stuck car out of the Race & Chase Ramp . Banging, rotating, failing, and trying again are all important parts of the process. Your toddler gains more problem-solving experience with every attempt.

RELATED: Subtle signs of your toddler’s developing focus

By 3 years of age, your child will have more skills to help them solve a problem. They’ve learned how to communicate and follow directions. They also have more control over their emotions and their body. Not only are they ready to solve more complex puzzles and games, they’re  learning how to solve social problems, like working through conflict and negotiating with peers during play.

If your child is accustomed to tackling problems, they’re more likely to at least attempt to get the cup they need off the high shelf, or try to buckle those tricky sandal straps. Practicing problem-solving can help your child overcome challenges, try flexible ways of thinking, and become more confident and independent in the process.  

Problem-solving skills are also crucial to your child’s cognitive development. They encourage your child’s brain to make new connections and process information in new ways. This is why so many of the best games, toys, and activities for young children stress some element of problem-solving, critical thinking, or creativity. 

Your child can develop better social skills when they practice problem-solving, too: Understanding how to resolve conflicts and compromise with peers is a crucial problem-solving skill they’ll take with them into preschool and beyond.

Problem-solving activities & games

You don’t need elaborate planning or fancy equipment to help your child develop these skills. Many problem-solving activities for kids can be incorporated into daily life or during playtime.

Problem-solving activities for babies

It will be years before your baby is ready for advanced problem-solving skills, like compromising with others and project planning. For now, they’ll experiment with different ways to solve simple problems, showing initiative, perseverance, and creativity. Here are a few activities that help spark your baby’s problem-solving skills.

Reaching for a toy: Setting a goal is the very first step in problem-solving. Once your baby can sit independently, place toys one at a time in front of them, behind them, beside them, between their legs, or on a nearby shelf. This allows them to practice setting a goal—get the toy!—and making a plan to achieve it. 

Emptying a container: Dumping objects out of containers sounds like a mess, but it’s a valuable skill for babies to learn. Place a Wood Ball in a Nesting Stacking Drip Drop Cup and show your baby how to tip over the cup to empty it. Then, put the ball back into the cup and let your baby figure out how to get the ball out of the container on their own. 

Finding hidden objects: Your baby practices problem-solving with the Sliding Top Box every time they work to figure out how to slide the top to reveal the ball inside. This also builds fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Posting: The Wooden Peg Drop lets your baby experiment with “posting,” or fitting an object into its container, a much-loved fine motor activity. The tab release is an engaging problem-solving task for your baby, as they discover how to press down to release the pegs from their slots.

Explore playthings that encourage problem-solving

The Thinker

The Thinker Play Kit

The Thinker Play Kit encourages your 11 – 12 month old baby’s curiosity as they start solving problems, working on hand strength and investigating everything in their path.

Problem-solving activities for toddlers

At 12 to 18 months, your toddler’s problem-solving skills are still taking shape. But you may begin to see them work to figure out more complex problems, like pulling toys around obstacles or getting objects “unstuck.” Encourage your toddler through play with activities that challenge their creative thinking.

Object interactions: What happens when you push a squishy ball through a small opening? How does a bendy thing react when it hits something hard? Understanding how different objects interact helps your child learn to use tools for problem-solving. 

As you play with your toddler, demonstrate different ways playthings can interact. Two blocks can be banged together, stacked, or lined up side by side. The insects from the Fuzzy Bug Shrub can be stuck to the outside of the shrub or put inside. Give your child pieces from different playthings and see how they can make them interact. Perhaps the balls from the Slide and Seek Ball Run and the rings from the Flexible Wooden Stacker can interact in some new, fun way?

Asking questions : Once your toddler learns how to push the Carrots through the Carrot Lid for the Coin Bank, the question becomes how to get them out. Ask your toddler simple questions to spark their problem-solving skills: “Where did the carrots go?” or “How can we get them out?” Encourage your child to explore the Coin Bank and give them time to discover a solution on their own.

Simple challenges: Your toddler may be ready for some problem-solving challenges with their playthings. For example, when your toddler can pick up a toy in each hand, offer a third toy and see if they can figure out how to carry all three at once. Or place parts of a toy—like the rings for the Flexible Wooden Stacker—in different locations around the room, so your child needs to plan how to retrieve the pieces. Pack as many Quilted Critters as will fit in The Lockbox  and let your toddler discover how to get them out. This type of challenge may seem simple, but your child has to problem-solve how to navigate their hand into the box to pull out the Critters. 

Cause and effect: Your toddler may discover how to pull on a string attached to a toy to make it move. They understand that the toy and the string are linked, and use simple problem-solving skills to test—and re-test—what happens when they move the string differently. This type of problem-solving can be supported by pull toys such as The Pull Pup . As your toddler encounters different obstacles—like the corner of the couch—with The Pull Pup, they’ll have to problem-solve to keep the toy moving.

significance of problem solving skills

RELATED: Pull toys are classic for a reason

Puzzles are a classic childhood problem-solving activity for good reason. Your child learns  how things fit together, how to orient and rotate objects, and how to predict which shape might fit a particular space. Puzzles come in such a wide variety of difficulty levels, shapes, sizes, and formats, there’s a puzzle that’s right for almost every stage of development. 

Lovevery co-founder Jessica Rolph explains how Lovevery puzzles are designed to progress with your child’s problem-solving and fine motor skills:

Babies can begin exploring simple one-piece puzzles around 6 to 8 months of age. Puzzles that have round slots and easy-to-hold pieces with knobs, like the First Puzzle , are ideal for this age. Around 13 to 15 months of age, they can try simple puzzles with several pieces in the same shape, like the Circle of Friends Puzzle .

By 18 months, your toddler is probably ready to work with puzzle shapes that are geometric, animal, or organic, like the Community Garden Puzzle . This reinforces your toddler’s newfound understanding that different shapes fit in different places. As they progress, they may start to enjoy stacking and nesting puzzles, like the 3D Geo Shapes Puzzle . This type of puzzle requires problem-solving on a new level, since your child may have to turn the shapes in different directions to orient and place them correctly.

As your toddler approaches their second birthday, they may be ready for classic jigsaw puzzles. Puzzles with large pieces that are easy for your toddler to hold, like the Chunky Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle , are a great place to start. At this age, your toddler may also find 3D puzzles, like the Wooden Posting Stand , an engaging problem-solving challenge. Since the dowels are different diameters, your child will likely use trial and error to determine which size fits in the correct slot. At first, you may have to guide them a bit: Point out that the dowels need to go in straight in order to fit.

How to encourage puzzle play for active toddlers

Depending on your toddler’s temperament, they may love to sit quietly and work on a puzzle—or they may be constantly on the move. Highly active toddlers may seem like they never sit still long enough to complete an activity. Here are a few ways to combine their love of movement with puzzle play:

  • Play “hide-and-seek” with toys (or puzzle pieces) by placing them on top of furniture that’s safe to cruise along or climb on.
  • Place puzzle pieces in different places around the room, so they have to retrieve them one by one to solve the puzzle. 
  • Place the puzzle pieces on stairs or in different rooms so your toddler has to walk or climb to find them.

Stacking toys

Stacking toys such as blocks or rings engage babies and toddlers in a challenging form of problem-solving play. Your child’s skills are put to the test as they plan where to place each item, work to balance their stack, and wrestle with gravity to keep the stack from toppling.  

You can introduce your baby to stacking play around 9 to 10 months with playthings that are easy to work with, like the Nesting Stacking Drip Drop Cups . Stacking takes coordination, precision, and patience, and if they try to stack items that are too difficult to keep upright, they may become frustrated and give up. 

You can also make basic blocks easier to stack by using a larger item, like the Little Grip Canister Set , as a base. Demonstrate how to stack a block on top of the canister, then knock the tower down. Hand a block to your toddler and allow them to try stacking and knocking it down. As their movements become more controlled and purposeful, introduce another block to stack.  

Stacking a tower with the pegs from the Wooden Stacking Pegboard is a fun way to introduce goal-setting, an important aspect of problem-solving. The pegs nest together securely, allowing your toddler to build a higher, more stable tower than they could create with regular blocks. You can gently suggest a goal for your child—“Can we stack it higher?”—and see if they’re ready for the challenge. Then, sit and support them as they try to solve any problems that arise: “Is the tower too tall? Can we make it wider so it won’t fall so easily?”

Hide-and-seek

The classic childhood game of hide-and-seek offers your toddler many problem-solving opportunities. Your child has to use reasoning to figure out what would be a good hiding spot. They also use the process of elimination when they think about where they have and haven’t looked. They might even use creative thinking skills to discover a new place to hide.

The game doesn’t always have to involve you and your child hiding. When your child is around 12 months, you can introduce them to the concept using toys or other objects. Hide a small ball in one of two identical containers that you can’t see through, like upside-down cups. Make sure your child sees you put the ball under one of the containers, then mix them up. Lift the empty container to show your toddler that the ball isn’t inside and say, “Where is the ball?” If your toddler looks at the other container, say, “Yes! The ball is under this one.” Let your toddler lift the second container to find the ball. 

Your toddler might enjoy a game of hide-and-seek with The Lockbox . Hide a small toy, like one of the Quilted Critters or a small ball, inside The Lockbox. This activity challenges your toddler’s problem-solving skills on two levels: figuring out how to unlock the different mechanisms to open the doors, and feeling around inside to discover what’s hidden. Add another layer of fun to the challenge by letting your child try to guess the object just by touching it—no peeking.

Using tools to solve problems

Around 17 to 24 months of age, your child may begin using tools to solve simple problems. For example, if you ask your child to pick up their toys, their hands may become full quickly. You can model how to load toys into a bucket or bag to carry them to another spot. This might seem like an obvious choice, but the ability to use a tool to make a task easier or solve a problem is an important cognitive skill.

Here are a few ways you and your toddler can explore using tools to solve a problem:

  • Show your child how to make a “shirt bowl” by using the upturned edge of their shirt as a cradle to hold toys or playthings.
  • If a toy gets stuck behind the sofa, model how you can use a broomstick to push the toy to a place where you can reach it.
  • Provide a child-size stool that your child can use to reach the sink or counter.

The Transfer Tweezers are a simple tool that your toddler can use to pick up other items besides the Felt Stars . They could try picking up the animals from the Quilted Critter Set or other child-safe items. Whenever you model how to use tools in everyday life, your child learns to think about new and different ways to solve problems.

Pretend play

Pretend play supports your child’s problem-solving skills in many ways. Research suggests that children’s pretend play is linked to different types of problem-solving and creativity. For example, one study showed that pretend play with peers was linked to better divergent problem-solving—meaning that children were able to “think outside the box” to solve problems. 

Pretend play is also a safe place for children to recreate—and practice solving—problems they’ve seen in their lives. Your 2- to 3-year-old may reenact an everyday challenge—for example, one doll might take away another doll’s toy. As practice for real-world problem-solving, you can then help them talk through how the dolls might solve their issue together

Pretend play may help children be more creative and open to new ideas. In pretend play, children put together play scenarios, act on them, and develop creative solutions. A 3- or 4-year-old child might be ready to explore creative problem-solving through pretend play that uses their playthings in new ways. Help your child start with an idea: “What do you want to pretend to be or recreate — a favorite storybook scene or someone from real life like a doctor or server at a restaurant?” Then encourage them to look for playthings they can use to pretend. Maybe a block can be a car or the beads from the Threadable Bead Set serve as “cups” in your child’s pretend restaurant. As your child gains practice with creative pretend play, they may start to form elaborate fantasy worlds.

Even if you don’t think of yourself as creative, you can model creative thinking by showing your child how a toy can be used in many different ways. Research finds that parents who model “out of the box” ways to play can encourage creative thinking and problem-solving in their children, starting in toddlerhood.

It can be difficult for young children to manage their frustration, but giving your child opportunities to solve problems on their own helps build both confidence and frustration tolerance . Research suggests that the ability to set goals and persist in them through challenges—sometimes called “grit”—is linked to school and career success. Here’s how you can play an important role in helping your child develop problem-solving persistence.

Model persistence. You know your toddler closely observes everything you do 🙃 A 2017 study shows that young children who watch their parents persist in their own challenge were more likely to show persistence themselves. Allow your toddler to see you attempting an activity, failing, and talking yourself through trying again. While playing with blocks, try stacking a few off balance so they fall. Notice aloud what went wrong and continue to narrate as you move slowly to carefully stack the blocks again.

Give them time. A little frustration can go a long way toward learning. It can take enormous restraint not to point out where to put the puzzle piece or how to slot the peg in place—but try to give them time to problem-solve on their own. You’re helping them feel capable and confident when faced with new challenges.

RELATED:  11 ways to build your toddler’s frustration tolerance

Ask questions to encourage new strategies. If your toddler gets frustrated with a problem, encourage their problem-solving process by asking questions: “Are you trying to race the car down the ramp but it got stuck? Is the car too long to go down sideways?” This may help your child refocus their attention on their goal instead of what they have already unsuccessfully tried. With a little time and creative problem-solving, your child may figure it out on their own.

Problem-solving skills are just one component of your child’s overall cognitive development. By around 12 months of age, you should see signs that your child is attempting to solve simple problems, like looking for a toy under a blanket. By about 30 months, your child may show slightly more advanced problem-solving skills, like using a stool to reach a high counter. Their attempts might not always be successful at this age, but the fact that they’re trying shows they’re thinking through different options. If you don’t see signs of your child trying to solve problems in these ways, talk to your pediatrician about your concerns. They can assess your child’s overall development and answer any questions.

Posted in: 7 - 8 Months , 9 - 10 Months , 11 - 12 Months , 13 - 15 Months , 16 - 18 Months , 19 - 21 Months , 22 - 24 Months , 25 - 27 Months , 28 - 30 Months , Learning & Cognitive Skills , Problem Solving , Cognitive Development , Cognitive

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significance of problem solving skills

Research & Resources

Alan, S., Boneva, T., & Ertac, S. (2019). Ever failed, try again, succeed better: Results from a randomized educational intervention on grit . The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 134 (3), 1121-1162.

Bergen, D. (2002). The role of pretend play in children’s cognitive development . Early Childhood Research & Practice , 4(1), n1.

Bruner, J. S. (1973). Organization of early skilled action . Child Development , 1-11.

Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92 (6), 1087.

Hoicka, E., Mowat, R., Kirkwood, J., Kerr, T., Carberry, M., & Bijvoet‐van den Berg, S. (2016). One‐year‐olds think creatively, just like their parents . Child Development , 87 (4), 1099-1105.

Keen, R. (2011). The development of problem solving in young children: A critical cognitive skill. Annual Review of Psychology , 62 , 1-21.

Mullineaux, P. Y., & Dilalla, L. F. (2009). Preschool pretend play behaviors and early adolescent creativity . The Journal of Creative Behavior , 43(1), 41-57.

We did all the research so you don't have to.

significance of problem solving skills

Keep reading

Toddler playing with the Geo Shapes Puzzle by Lovevery

16 - 18 Months

Puzzling over puzzles—what the progression looks like

Puzzles build fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving strategies. Here is the progression of puzzle solving for babies and toddlers.

Toddler playing with the Wooden Peg Drop by Lovevery

13 - 15 Months

Toddler independent play tips

When your toddler plays on their own, they develop concentration, problem-solving, and autonomy. Read these 4 tips for for supporting independent play.

significance of problem solving skills

19 - 21 Months

22 - 24 Months

11 ways to build your toddler’s frustration tolerance 

Help your toddler work through feelings of disappointment, sadness, and frustration when their skills don't quite match their ambitions.

The Importance of Skill Development and Where to Start

Like earning a degree or gaining work experience, skill development can be an important part of landing your dream job. Ready to improve? Start here.

[Featured image] Man and woman at the computer working on developing a new skill

When you begin working toward a new job or career, you tend to focus on ensuring you have the proper education and work experience to make hiring managers take notice. Equally important is developing essential skills, particularly workplace or human skills.

Many surveys and studies have shown that these skills are a top priority for employers during the 2020s. For example, a learning and development study from LinkedIn states that 64 percent of learning and development professionals plan to reskill their current employees—the process of learning new skills for a new job [ 1 ]. 

Skills development is essential to training yourself for a career and personal development. Learning how to showcase them on your resume can set you above the other candidates. Here’s what you need to know about skill development, how to start developing your skills, and how to list them on your resume. 

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significance of problem solving skills

What is skill development?

Skill development is the process of improving specific skills to be more efficient and effective when you perform a task. In the workplace, you’ll find three main types of skill development:

Upskilling : Improving your skills in your current role

Cross-skilling : Learn new skills for your current role 

Reskilling: Learning new skills so you can move to a new role  

However, you don't have to be part of a workplace program to develop your skills further. You might be a college learner working towards a degree, unhappy with your current job, wanting to apply to a new company, or desiring a promotion. You can also develop your skills for personal reasons, such as improving your confidence or improving a hobby you enjoy.

Steps to beginning your skills development

You can take these steps to get started no matter why you're working on skills development.

1. Think about your goals.

First, establish a goal. Why do you want to enhance a particular skill? This can be for a job, a volunteer opportunity, a hobby, for your education, to improve your confidence, or to win an award—there are countless potential reasons.

Let's say you have a goal of becoming a journalist. Once you have that, you can determine where you need improvement.

Read more: What Are Your Career Goals? Tips for Setting Your Goals

2. Identify your skills gap.

You’ve established a goal. Now, you need to think about what you require to reach it. Several skills are necessary to become a journalist. Let's say you have most of them, but your social media skills need to improve. That is an in-demand skill for modern journalists, so you'll want to develop your social media expertise before applying for jobs.

3. Target specific skill areas.

Skills can be divided into dozens of categories. When discussing a career, you can divide them into human skills (sometimes called soft skills or personal skills) and technical skills (sometimes called hard skills).

Human skills

You use human skills at work to interact with others and solve problems independently. Some may come naturally to you, and some may require development. Some common human skills include:

Communication

Time management 

Adaptability 

Critical thinking

These skills can be challenging to showcase on a resume because you usually prove them through actions and interactions. They can be subjective, and they're not easy to quantify.

Technical skills

On the other hand, technical skills, or hard skills, are those you can quantify. For example, if you're a great typist, you can prove that by typing 70 words per minute. If you're great at social media, you can show the accounts you run with many followers and heavy engagement. If you've mastered Microsoft Office, you can present the certificate you earned.

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significance of problem solving skills

4. Expand your network

One way to start skill development is to see how others do it. Start by expanding your network to people who are great at social media. If you're a college learner, you could contact a digital marketing company to see if they'd allow you to meet with one of their social media experts. You can browse social media and reach out to a journalist with a strong understanding of the platform. You can even approach a friend or family member who is excellent at social media. Ask them to teach you what they know. Not only will this help you build your social media skills, but it'll help you improve human skills, like communication and active listening.

5. Get a coach

If you need more time to be ready to reach out to someone at random, consider searching for someone who coaches people in these skills professionally. This may be more expensive, but remember that it may help your bottom line in the long run.

6. Read and research

Because social media is such a huge part of modern life, there is plenty to read about, both in print and online. Reading and learning as much as possible about any skill you want to improve can help you better understand it. Consider educational videos and podcasts too. Immerse yourself in high-quality information that relates to the skill.

7. Take courses and undergo training.

Consider signing up for a class on the topic. For example, visit a site like Coursera. You'll find several online classes to improve your social media skills, such as How to Increase Engagement to Your Instagram Business Profile or How to Optimize Your Instagram Account , both offered by the Coursera Project Network.

8. Seek certification

While there won't be certifications for every skill, you can find them for some of the most current in-demand skills. Regarding social media skills, you'll find that reputable companies like Hootsuite and X Flight School offer certifications you can list on your resume upon completion.

Read more: Are Certifications Worth It? When to Get Certified in Your IT Career

9. Practice

The more you practice a skill, the more you'll get the hang of it. Open up that Instagram or Twitter account and get to work. Apply the skills you learned from your network, coach, or online courses. Practice daily with your personal account. While you practice, pay attention to feedback, no matter its source. Your coach or mentor may have tips to help you improve your work. In the case of social media, a lack of engagement or criticism from your followers may be a form of feedback. You can even ask a friend to look at your account and tell you what they think.

How to highlight your skills on your resume

Once you have a good command of any skill, you'll want to add it to your resume. To do this, simply create a section called “Skills.” Make two separate lists—one of your human skills and one of your technical skills. Then, list the skills that are your strongest and most relevant to the job to which you’re applying.

When you’re called in for an interview, your interviewer will likely address this section of your resume. For technical skills, they might want concrete proof of what you've listed. If you mention you have strong social media skills, they might ask to see your personal account. If you claim you have taken an online course in social media optimization, they may want to see the diploma or certificate.

It’s harder to demonstrate your human skills. In this case, the interviewer might ask about a time when you used these skills at work or school to solve a problem. Be sure to come up with some good examples before your interview and practice telling someone about them.

If you’re interested in skills development for your career, consider taking an online course that can help. On Coursera, you’ll find several options for general self-improvement and specific human and technical skills offered by some of the world's top businesses and educational organizations.

Consider Professional Development: Improve Yourself offered by Macquarie University and The Arts and Science of Relationships: Understanding Human Needs offered by the University of Toronto. 

Let's talk about making talent your advantage

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Article sources

Linkedin. " Leading with Learning: Insights and Advice About the New State of L&D " Accessed September 27, 2023. 

This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

IMAGES

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COMMENTS

  1. 7 Problem-Solving Skills That Can Help You Be a More ...

    1. Analysis As a manager, you'll solve each problem by assessing the situation first. Then, you'll use analytical skills to distinguish between ineffective and effective solutions. 2. Communication Effective communication plays a significant role in problem-solving, particularly when others are involved.

  2. What Are Problem-Solving Skills? Definition and Examples

    An employee with good problem-solving skills is both a self-starter and a collaborative teammate; they are proactive in understanding the root of a problem and work with others to consider a wide range of solutions before deciding how to move forward. Examples of using problem-solving skills in the workplace include:

  3. What Are Problem-Solving Skills? Definitions and Examples

    Problem-solving skills help you determine the source of a problem and find an effective solution. Although problem-solving is often identified as its own separate skill, there are other related skills that contribute to this ability. Some key problem-solving skills include: Active listening Analysis Research Creativity Communication Decision-making

  4. Introduction to Problem Solving Skills

    The ability to solve problems is a basic life skill and is essential to our day-to-day lives, at home, at school, and at work. We solve problems every day without really thinking about how we solve them. For example: it's raining and you need to go to the store. What do you do? There are lots of possible solutions. Take your umbrella and walk.

  5. The Importance of Problem-Solving Skills in the Workplace

    Explore Our Workshops According to Management 3.0 Facilitator Ilija Popjanev, problem solving is essential for individuals and organizations as it enables us to control all aspects of our business environment.

  6. Why Problem-Solving Skills Are Essential for Leaders

    4 Problem-Solving Skills All Leaders Need. 1. Problem Framing. One key skill for any leader is framing problems in a way that makes sense for their organization. Problem framing is defined in Design Thinking and Innovation as determining the scope, context, and perspective of the problem you're trying to solve.

  7. Problem Solving Skills: What Are They?

    1. Analyze Contributing Factors To solve a problem, you must find out what caused it. This requires you to gather and evaluate data, isolate possible contributing circumstances, and pinpoint what needs to be addressed for a resolution. To do this, you'll use skills like: Data gathering Data analysis Fact-finding Historical analysis 2.

  8. Problem-Solving Strategies and Obstacles

    Improvement From deciding what to eat for dinner to considering whether it's the right time to buy a house, problem-solving is a large part of our daily lives. Learn some of the problem-solving strategies that exist and how to use them in real life, along with ways to overcome obstacles that are making it harder to resolve the issues you face.

  9. What Are Problem-Solving Skills? (Definition, Examples, And ...

    Summary. Problem-solving skills include analysis, creativity, prioritization, organization, and troubleshooting. To solve a problem, you need to use a variety of skills based on the needs of the situation. Most jobs essentially boil down to identifying and solving problems consistently and effectively.

  10. What is Problem Solving? Steps, Process & Techniques

    Finding a suitable solution for issues can be accomplished by following the basic four-step problem-solving process and methodology outlined below. Step. Characteristics. 1. Define the problem. Differentiate fact from opinion. Specify underlying causes. Consult each faction involved for information. State the problem specifically.

  11. Problem Solving

    Problem solving skills refers to our ability to solve problems in an effective and timely manner without any impediments. It involves being able to identify and define the problem, generating alternative solutions, evaluating and selecting the best alternative, and implementing the selected solution.

  12. Problem-solving skills: definitions and examples

    Problem-solving skills are skills that enable people to handle unexpected situations or difficult challenges at work. Organisations need people who can accurately assess problems and come up with effective solutions. In this article, we explain what problem-solving skills are, provide some examples of these skills and outline how to improve them.

  13. Problem Solving Skills: Meaning, Examples & Techniques

    Improves decision-making abilities. Builds solid communication skills. Develop the ability to learn from mistakes and avoid the repetition of mistakes. Problem Solving as an ability is a life skill desired by everyone, as it is essential to manage our day-to-day lives.

  14. What Are Critical Thinking Skills and Why Are They Important?

    Problem-solving: Problem-solving is perhaps the most important skill that critical thinkers can possess. The ability to solve issues and bounce back from conflict is what helps you succeed, be a leader, and effect change. One way to properly solve problems is to first recognize there's a problem that needs solving.

  15. Why is Problem Solving Skills Important to Learn?

    Problem solving skills can be defined as an act to define a problem, finding the root cause of the problem (including performing identification, setting a priority, and choosing the right solution alternatives), and implementing the solution that is chosen. Problem solving skills are required not only in business life but also in daily lives.

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    The main areas that are taken into account in this research paper are, meaning and significance of problem solving skills, problem solving processes, and measures to bring about improvements in ...

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    1. Adaptability in an Ever-Changing World: In a fast-paced and dynamic world, problems arise unexpectedly, and being able to adapt quickly is essential. Problem-solving skills equip us with...

  18. What Is Creative Problem-Solving & Why Is It Important?

    Creative problem-solving primarily operates in the ideate phase of design thinking but can be applied to others. This is because design thinking is an iterative process that moves between the stages as ideas are generated and pursued. This is normal and encouraged, as innovation requires exploring multiple ideas.

  19. Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: Skills Every Leader Must Have

    The Significance of Problem-Solving Problem-solving is the art of finding solutions to complex or ambiguous issues. In a leadership context, it often involves identifying obstacles, analyzing their root causes, and devising strategies to overcome them. ... To illustrate the power of problem-solving and decision-making skills, consider the story ...

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    The Significance of Problem-Solving Skills Problem-solving skills are essential in various aspects of life. Whether it's resolving conflicts, overcoming obstacles, or making strategic decisions, individuals who possess strong problem-solving abilities can tackle complex situations with confidence and efficiency.

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    Making a daily commitment to strengthen or preserve your cognitive skills will have long-lasting benefits. In the workplace. Every job requires the use of cognitive skills. Your job might involve the application of problem-solving, critical and analytical thinking, and the ability to make logical and reasoned decisions.

  22. Problem Solving Skills: Meaning, Steps, Techniques (2023)

    As a problem solver, you might need to conduct research using a lot of problem solving methods. You can start by asking your peers for input and using web resources to conduct thorough research. 2. Analyzing and Evaluation. The ability to analyze and evaluate solutions is a typical example of a problem-solving skill.

  23. Importance Of Problem-Solving Skills In The Workplace

    Here are four reasons why problem-solving is an important skill to have in the workplace: 1. Strategy prioritization, planning, and execution. Efficient problem-solvers can carefully assess customer requirements and put together a plan that helps them provide a brilliant service to their intended audience.

  24. Problem-solving: Why is it important and how to practice it

    Reaching for a toy: Setting a goal is the very first step in problem-solving. Once your baby can sit independently, place toys one at a time in front of them, behind them, beside them, between their legs, or on a nearby shelf. This allows them to practice setting a goal—get the toy!—and making a plan to achieve it.

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    This study seeks students' abilities to solve Polya problems involving systems of linear equations with two variables based on their mathematical prowess. Three junior high school students with high, average, and low math aptitudes were chosen as participants. Research data were collected using a written test on the system of linear equations with two variables problem in the form of word ...

  26. The Importance of Skill Development and Where to Start

    Skills can be divided into dozens of categories. When discussing a career, you can divide them into human skills (sometimes called soft skills or personal skills) and technical skills (sometimes called hard skills). Human skills. You use human skills at work to interact with others and solve problems independently.

  27. DIPR Kargil on Instagram: "Press Release Imteeaz Kacho interacts with

    112 likes, 0 comments - diprkargil on February 23, 2024: "Press Release Imteeaz Kacho interacts with students at Digital Computer Centre, Kargil Kargil, ..."