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Performance Problem Solving (PPS) Overview

By Future Thought <Mailto:info@futurethought.org>
Monday, November 18, 2002
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Performance Problem Solving Overview

Interact Performance Systems' Performance Problem Solving program is designed to increase people's effectiveness by improving the way they solve interpersonal relationship problems they routinely face. This article is organized following the outline below.

Performance Problem Solving shows participants how to demand accountability & ownership while building commitment & strong working relationships. This program builds concrete tools for solving the kinds of problems that undercut performance. This is not a "theory" course—participants leave with hands-on skills. This is not "charm school" either—participants learn practical skills for handling tough problems.

We have divided this program into five 2 ½ to 4-hour workshop sessions. We have paid special attention to making these skills easy to learn and remember, and to building concrete applications into every workshop session. Each workshop addresses key problems that participants find relevant and important.

Session 1. Communicating Problem Situations

This session teaches participants how to confront problem situations without creating defensiveness or anger. We find that the first words out of the problem-solver's mouth set the tone for the whole interaction. So we pay special attention to setting the stage for problem solving, determining when and where to initiate the discussion, and beginning the discussion itself.

In addition, this session teaches participants how to use positive reinforcement to build and support performance. The most consistent result of over 75 years of organizational climate surveys has been that people don't think they get the recognition they deserve when they do a good job. Managers and employees need to know how to give recognition and need to understand that giving recognition is important to them and their peers.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. To give participants strategies for making a direct approach to the person with whom they have a problem.

· We find many people put off problem solving, go behind other’s backs with problems, use jokes and sarcasm to hint at problems, and try end-runs around problems.

· We show participants ways and reasons to be direct with each other.

2. To help participants be specific about the grievances they have.

· Too often, people blame each other for having "bad attitudes," "not pulling their fair share," or not being "on the ball."

· These vague problem statements sound like accusations.

· The focus is on the person instead of the problem.

· We teach participants how to stick to the facts and which kinds of facts to use when confronting problems.

3. To show participants how to bring up problems in non-punishing ways.

· Abusive behavior is a natural by-product of getting too much responsibility too soon, and we have seen many people become frustrated and very abusive toward each other.

· We have participants see the forms that abuse can take (anger, labeling, threats, subtle abuse, verbal and nonverbal behavior), debate the consequences that abusive behavior can have, and practice being non-punishing in situations where being abusive is very tempting.

4. To show participants how to give recognition.

· Many people avoid positive reinforcement because they experience it as "sickly sweet" or disingenuous.

· Participants learn how to give reinforcement in a couple of short and honest sentences.

Session 2. Solving Motivation Problems

The key to effective problem solving is taking the time to do it right. And people don't take the time unless they have both a concern for getting the problem solved and a concern for maintaining the working relationship. Without this dual focus, either the problem is blown off or the person is.

When the problem is a performance problem, then "doing it right" means stopping to listen and diagnose before taking action. It means asking questions rather than "shooting from the hip." People need to learn how to diagnose the causes of a problem before jumping to a solution.

In this session, we give participants skills for diagnosing the causes of problems and then focus on problems that are caused by low motivation. We provide a model for understanding differences in motivation and show participants how to work through these differences in an effective and involving way.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. To enable participants to diagnose whether a problem is due to low ability (internal skills or external obstacles) or due to low motivation (person doesn't understand the consequences or doesn't care about them). It is key that problem solvers make this diagnosis because the actions required to solve ability problems are quite different from the actions required to solve motivation problems.

2. To give participants a model for understanding motivation. Rather than develop a continuum from lazy to motivated, it is more profitable to view people as always being motivated—but not always motivated to do what you want them to do.

· Motivation problems reflect differences in priorities.

· By framing motivation problems as priority differences, we make it acceptable to discuss them.

· Having different priorities doesn't make you "bad" in the way that being lazy does.

· You can discuss priority differences with your manager and with customers, as well as with your people, without creating defensiveness or getting angry yourself.

3. To give participants a strategy for resolving motivation problems.

· Participants are taught how to explain the reasons behind their own priorities and how to get the other person to explain the reasons behind their different priorities.

· Once all the facts are on the table, the priorities are re-aligned to match what is best for the larger organization.

4. To show participants how to test for commitment and how to set clear action plans and follow-up times. Participants practice these motivating skills using rehearsals that address a wide range of problems we have collected from teams at work.

Session 3. Solving Ability Problems

Even the most motivated people won't follow through on commitments if they can't. And many times, people are reluctant to admit to areas where they suffer ability blocks. Problems include a range of ability levels. Cross training and backfilling to overcome differences in ability are key reasons for introducing teams into organizations.

People need to understand and have ways to resolve the ability problems they encounter. This session shows them how to ask for ideas and use participative problem solving to overcome ability blocks.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. To build participants' understanding of how ability and motivation interlock.

· Many times, we'll use extra effort to overcome ability blocks when we're extra motivated. And many times, we can motivate others to overcome the ability blocks they face.

· Motivating people to jump higher and run faster won't work with every problem—some ability blocks are impossibility blocks—and motivating doesn't always produce the most lasting solutions.

· People are willing to put out extra effort in the short term, but long-term solutions usually involve removing ability blocks.

· Participants need to understand that, every time they solve a motivation block, they should check to see if an ability block lies beneath it.

· To show participants how to involve their peers, customers, suppliers, and management in participative problem solving. Participants learn how and when to:

¨ ask for ideas

¨ how to do one-on-one brainstorming

¨ how to build solutions that both parties find acceptable

2. To give participants the toughest and most intensive practice of the skills to date.

· The rehearsals present highly relevant problems that combine pure motivation blocks, pure ability blocks, mixes of motivation and ability blocks, short-term problems, long-term problems, and both long and short-term problems.

· The situations range from quality issues, productivity issues, teamwork issues, and customer issues, to problem solving with managers, problem solving with support people, problem solving with team members, problem solving with members of other teams, etc.

· Each session builds very simple skills, the skills combine to produce a flexible approach to problem solving.

· Participants see just how comprehensive and flexible their skills have become.

Session 4. Solving Emergent Problems

Up to this point, participants have learned a very rational, common-sense approach to solving people problems. In this session, they learn how to handle the not-so-rational side of problem solving. The key focus is on handling anger and emotional reactions.

We call these strong reactions "emergent problems" because they emerge unexpectedly in the middle of problem solving and constitute problems in their own right. For example, if you are discussing a quality problem with a team member and he or she becomes angry, we would say you now have two problems:

Problem #1 is the quality issue that still needs to be resolved.

Problem #2 is that the person is angry with you, and the anger also needs to be resolved.

Savvy problem solvers use listening skills to diffuse the anger and to show respect for the angry person. Angry people are not always rational and many times won't listen to logical arguments. Skills such as "active listening" are ways to work through the anger and rebuild some trust, so you can get back to the solid ground of rational problem solving.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. To help participants recognize when strong reactions or emotions are blocking effective problem solving. One of the most common mistakes in dealing with anger is to continue along a calm, rational path as if the person were ready to listen.

2. To show participants how to reduce anger and defensiveness by focusing on the strong reaction, showing concern, and allowing the person to share his/her point of view.

· This skill for reducing anger is one of the most effective of all interpersonal skills and one of the most abused. When misused, this skill sounds manipulative, dishonest, and deceitful—almost as if the person were trying to psychoanalyze you.

· We have found that multiple, brief video scenes can pinpoint for participants the "do's and don’ts" of using this skill.

· Participants walk away able to use active listening in a genuine and effective manner.

3. To build a range of listening skills that helps participants understand each other and correct misunderstandings. Participants learn different styles of questioning and paraphrasing that can help them involve others and sort through complicated responses.

Session 5. Refining and Extending Problem-Solving Skills

This session reviews all of the skills and tools taught in the previous sessions, and shows participants how to extend these skills to new situations that don’t involve "problems."

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. To review, refine, and hone skills learned in the previous four sessions. Participants have learned many new skills. This session provides a chance to put them together in a new context. This session is an important opportunity to make sure that the skills are truly incorporated into participants’ skill sets.

2. To extend the use of the skills to other workplace activities. We show participants how to use these skills to prevent problems, to analyze options, to make decisions, to delegate assignments, etc. Participants see how these skills extend beyond problem solving.

3. To maintain the use of the skills in the future. This review session includes enough material for several review sessions that can be held over several months. Review sessions make a significant impact on maintaining their use over the long term.

Course Outcomes

At the conclusion of Performance Problem Solving, participants will be able to:

¨ Discuss problems with peers or subordinates without creating hostility.

¨ Reward and encourage effective performance.

¨ Coach or motivate people to improve performance.

¨ Distinguish between problems that are caused by a lack of motivation and those caused by a lack of ability.

¨ Involve others in solving problems and resolve long-term problems.

¨ Identify problems that emerge during problem solving (high emotion, complexity, lying, etc.)

¨ Handle emergent problems and recognize and reduce anger.

¨ Listen and understand what others are trying to communicate.

¨ Extend the use of the skills learned in this training to other activities.

¨ Apply the skills in preventing problems as well as solving them.

Summary

Interact Performance Systems believes clear communication and reliable commitments are what bind an organization together. The Performance Problem Solving program is designed to ensure that people understand each other and can solve problems together. This program keeps communication channels clear, open, and honest.

For more information on Interact Performance Systems' state-of-the-art training in Supervisory and Management Skills, Teamwork, Analytical Skills, Conflict Management, and Performance Management, please call ACCTTS-LLC at (952) 888-1108 or Alliance Consulting at (425) 814-1092.

 

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