Become a Better Problem-Solver

On a recent business travel road trip, I listened to a Podcast episode from the PM Happy Hour. One of my favorite Podcasts that I like to listen to while driving. On this episode they had guest speaker Teresa Lawrence talking about the FourSight model and how to become a better problem-solver.

I’m a sucker for these kinds of assessments, and the timing was just right. I was facing a creative problem-solving challenge at work and had been munching on why I felt impatient and uneasy in meetings and wishing we would just make a decision so we could get to implementing and making magic happen. I forked over the $65 or to take the profile assessment and get my results. My goal was to become a better problem solver.

Here’s my preferred problem-solving style and what I learned from taking the FourSight assessment. 

🧐 FourSight Preferences: Clarifier, Ideator, Developer, Implementor

My profile results identified me as an Accelerator.

High on the Clarifier side of things–I want to know the history and context of the situation and issue. How did we get here, what’s the history? Those sorts of questions.

My Ideator category score was very low. I really hate brainstorming activities and trying to come up with all possibilities. I would much rather take the first idea and run with it! 

I also scored low on Developer category, but not as low as Ideation. I don’t naturally go into process improvement mode to refine the turd of a rock into a fine diamond. 

Lastly, I scored high on the Implementor category. I prefer to take action, “Just Do It”, and get stuff done.

💡Aha! I’m an Accelerator

Put it all together, and I got the Accelerator profile type. I think this profile is pretty darn accurate about where I am on the Problem-Solving spectrum and in the FourSight profile model.

I very much like to get all the facts and really understand the issue and investigate situations. I really struggle to come up with grand visions and original and imaginative ideas with deliberate intention or being forced to by pressure I put on myself. I like to get the job done and move on. I like tangible and crunchy outcomes. 

🤷‍♂️ So What?

Now I know more about WHY I get impatient in some meetings. Why I sometimes feel disengaged during problem solving meetings. Why I feel low energy and a bit listless, even in problem solving calls that I host and it’s because I’ve usually invited people to that session that have preferences elsewhere in the creative process. Now that I know about this and am more aware of that after the initial huge burst of energy to build the contextual picture, I need to brace and bolster myself for the dramatic drop in interest while we continue through the problem-solving stage to eventually get to the execution step. 

More importantly, with this awareness, I now know that not everyone needs to be in the room. I can invite specifically who I need to the meeting if I’m trying to accomplish a specific goal. For example, an execution-oriented meeting I would invite people who I know are more tilted toward that preference. Or, when I need a bunch of ideas and to refine those ideas, I know who to include and exclude to give those people room to expand the field of possibilities.

Now that I know why I sometimes get impatient with others during the creative process, I can be a better problem-solver in all aspects of my life.