While it might seem like some people are just born with stronger problem-solving skills, there are strategies that anyone can use to improve them.
That’s right, it’s possible to significantly enhance your abilities in this area — and the best part is, most of these activities are also pretty fun!
What Are the Different Types of Problem-Solving Skills?
Before we get to the engaging activities, let’s refine our understanding of problem-solving skills, which are any techniques that help you consistently:
- Understand the causes of problems
- Overcome short-term crises
- Create strategies to solve longer-term problems
- Turn problems into opportunities
You’ll be able to solve problems in your role better as you grow in your industry-specific knowledge. But there are also a few universal problem-solving skills we all need:
- Defining the Problem: Deeply understanding a problem through research, leading to better solutions. Research can include interviewing, reading books and emails, analyzing financial data, searching your organization’s intranet, and organizing your findings.
- Brainstorming: Creating a myriad of new solutions quickly. In group brainstorms, allow everyone to state ideas. Appreciate all input, and avoid criticism. Then, organize solutions into groups around common themes.
- Analyzing: Using disciplined thought processes to evaluate each possible solution. Besides listing their costs and benefits, you might apply deductive reasoning, game theory, and the rules of logic (including fallacies) to them.
- Managing Risk: Anticipating and trying to avoid the downsides of key solutions. Your team can list potential risks, rate how likely each is, predict a date by which each might either happen or no longer be an issue, and devise ways to reduce those risks.
- Deciding: The ability to decide on a solution and move forward with it. After an appropriate amount of time, an analysis of possible solutions, and feedback from team members, a designated decider must choose and implement a solution.
- Managing Emotions: Applying emotional intelligence in order to improve you and your team members’ ability to think clearly. This requires you to recognize emotions in yourself and others, manage feelings, and channel emotions into useful work.
10 Exciting Activities to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills
Use these ten creative tips to improve problem-solving skills, develop more strategic ways of thinking, and train your brain to do more.
1. Dance Your Heart Out
2. Work out Your Brain with Logic Puzzles or Games
3. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
4. Work out to Some Tunes
5. Keep an “Idea Journal” with You
6. Participate in Yoga
7. Eat Some Cheerios (And Then Think About It)
8. Use Mind Maps to Help Visualize the Problem
9. Create “Psychological Distance”
10. Play Some Soccer