Making Multiple Tough Interpretations

Being able to lead through tough situations is important for any leader. When things get tough, it is essential to stay level-headed and make decisions that will best benefit the team. This month, the LEAD Institute took a deep dive into the topic.

The following are some takeaways the LEAD Institute Class shared:

• Not everyone fits in a box it’s just a guide and you should really get to know people to understand more about them, their ways of working and their preferred communication to build effective relationships.
• If we take more time to observe and ask questions to diagnose situations, we could fix more of the root cause rather than the symptom.
• Slow down, take my times, & don’t over think it. While also getting feedback from others & their ideas.
• Being intentional and taking the time in finding multiple interpretations to a problem situation.
• Just the idea that there was a difference between the various different types of ways of thinking about and analyzing problems – it is something I have been more cognizant of even today!
• That to diagnose or think through a problem you need to look through the viewpoints and thoughts of all involved which will also help form a solution that is acceptable by all or most instead of making assumptions and not really understanding why the problem exists.
• The first/quickest/easiest solution isn’t always the one that will fix the problem.
• What you see on the surface isn’t necessarily true. Dig deeper with your observations or ask more questions. The bigger picture isn’t always what it seems. If that makes sense.
• Multigenerational- loved this and went home and shared it with others.
• The content spoke about things I wouldn’t have thought about before. It made me realize again how everybody is different and values different things differently.
• I really enjoyed this topic. It was helpful to learn the difference between a technical problem and an adaptive problem. A takeaway for me is that I am really going to have to develop this skill. I really had to think when completing the assignment, and I am still not sure that I did it correctly. The assignment made me think back to my Leadership class in my graduate program. Our professor talked about problem solving as a leader. He talked about how there will be times where we will not know the answer. That is when we will have to find a way to take time and go somewhere without distractions and just think. Now knowing what I do, I imagine he was making multiple tough interpretations.
• Each interpretation or problem is multi-layered. The process of shifting your mindset to tougher, conflictual, and systemic in order to solve a problem that might not even be “solved” right away. Thinking in an experimental mode when diagnosing these types of situations instead of thinking of a concrete fix ASAP.

Want to learn more about the LEAD Institute? Contact Terri Greene at terri@leadershipmedinacounty.org.