Make your problems projects and teach your team to do the same

Unless you work in a field where you literally earn money solving the problems of your clients, I think it’s safe to say that hardly anyone is particularly fond of problem-solving as in resolving conflicts, fixing tech errors or malfunctioning equipment, correcting mistakes, dealing with “issues,” and such.

Shift your focus

The energy in the room quickly changes when we stop talking about problems or issues, and start talking about solutions, and this simple change in language can even change our mood.

Words have power!

Fact is, language makes a huge difference! It impacts our level of enthusiasm, and positively focused language can even increase our creativity in a matter of seconds.

It’s just part of human nature that we feel more enthusiastic when striving toward something positive (the solution), rather than giving our attention to what we want to get rid of.

Next time you want to raise the level of enthusiasm and promote the sharing of creative ideas in your team, try turning your language around and focus on what you want, rather than what you don’t want. (I’m assuming you want more solutions rather than more problems, right?)

Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want!

And why not teach your team the same thing? They’ll be learning it from you anyway because actions teach more effectively than words… But it’s not the worst idea to talk about these things, is it?

As above, so below!

The same happens with humans themselves. When we try to “fix” someone, to eliminate what we consider undesirable behavior in someone, this rarely bears fruit. Because it creates resistance.

When we shift our focus toward appreciation instead, and concentrate on the good in the person, when we highlight what we value, we may be surprised how quickly the behavior of that person toward us shifts as well. The resistance has melted, and the result is often a 180-degree change in attitude.

It’s not our purpose to fix others. We are only responsible for our own behavior. And I know you’ve heard it before: What you focus on, expands. Where your attention goes, energy flows.

We all communicate energetically in addition to verbally (speaking, writing or silence) and physically (body language). This energy has a specific vibrational frequency, which is transmitted automatically. Our thoughts, words, and intentions also have energetic frequency. Energetic frequency impacts all it’s directed at. It is therefore not surprising that others modify their behavior toward us once we change our attitude toward them.

Next time you’re about to be upset with a team member (and assuming you’re not dealing with a general performance issue, which should of course be addressed with candor), experiment with this approach and see what happens! You may be surprised!