TOOLS FOR COACHES AND MENTORS
Look for Global Solutions for Local Problems
(from the section on Perspective in the book, The Five Insights)
Again, look for solutions to the underlying issues, not just the issue of the day. This kind of thinking and creative problem solving is summed up succinctly in this well-known parable: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” Don’t settle for a solution to a symptom (feeding a man for a day). Look for the cause of the symptom and solve THAT problem.
Solving local problems with global solutions is not easy. In fact, it is so difficult, most leaders avoid doing it. They dwell endlessly in the quagmire of symptoms and minutia—never solving the root cause. Karl-Henrik Robčrt identified the local problem of childhood cancers and developed a high level, global solution: an approach to move towards sustainability called The Natural Step. Finding global solutions to local problems is the ultimate expression of a systems leader. In organizations, what leaders need to look for are issues underlying the undesired behavior.
What to Do:
Choose a behavior problem in your organization. Find what you think is the underlying issue and test your theory by applying change to the system. If, for example, you believe the underlying issue of not following procedures is that the procedure has some flaw in it, make the change necessary to the
procedure and then watch what happens. Listen and look for a change in behaviors.
Choose one thing at a time. Systems theory holds that when you find the biggest, thorniest underlying issue and address it successfully, that one change will affect everything else in the system positively.
