Problem Solving Is the Engine of Change
I cannot say it clearer than this: Every transformation introduces friction.
Something breaks. Something does not behave as designed. Assumptions turn out to be wrong. None of this is failure; what matters is not whether problems appear, but how teams respond when they do.
Temporary problems are not proof that the change is wrong. They are how the change becomes real.
If teams crumble at the first issue, if they revert to the old way under pressure, if they outsource thinking upwards, change will stall as it butts up against the reality of implementation. But when teams are willing and able to problem-solve, to examine it, test options and learn, change happens.
Problem solving is how people adapt the abstract intent of transformation into lived reality.
Transformation is not delivered by eliminating problems or leaders solving every problem that will arise; it is delivered by leaders creating the conditions in which temporary problems are recognised for what they are - temporary - and others can problem-solve their own frictions and difficulties, either individually or collectively.
Here are some ways leaders and sponsors can activate the problem-solving ability within their teams.
1. Redefine What a “Problem” Is
During change, treating issues as information about the system (rather than interruptions to the plan), means teams stop trying to hide them and start engaging with them. Language matters here. “This has shown us something” invites a different response from “why has this gone wrong?”
2. Focus on One Problem at a Time
Encourage the team to work on one problem at a time, rather than attempting to tackle multiple issues in parallel. Problem-solving capacity is finite. Explicitly name the problem currently being worked on, and park other issues somewhere visible but inactive. Finishing one problem builds momentum and restores belief that progress is possible, which is essential during change.
3. Make Thinking Visible
Teams often struggle to problem solve collectively because people jump to solutions without shared understanding.
Tools help here. Map the current process. Walk the issue end to end. List and distinguish symptoms from causes.
The goal is not elegance of documentation but shared cognition. When people can see the problem together, they can work on it together.
Same is true for the strategy, the direction, the business case.
4. Normalise Not Knowing Yet
Transformation puts everyone into competence gaps. If uncertainty is treated as incompetence, people will revert to the status quo. If it is treated as a temporary state in learning, people stay engaged.
Everyone modelling to each other (not just leaders modelling this behaviour) “we do not know yet, but we do know what we are testing next” changes the emotional tone of problem solving dramatically.
5. Make Small Experiments Legitimate
People may believe only “approved” actions are allowed. Micro‑level problem solving is activated when people know they are allowed to try small, reversible actions. We don’t always need to know, or can’t know, the whole solution from the off: maybe the place to start is a small experiment? Sharing what was learned in this small experiment multiplies the learning across the team.
6. Interrupt Learned Helplessness
Once resignation sets in, problem solving shuts down. Activate thinking by gently challenging resignation with some curiosity:
“What happens if we assume it could be different?”
“What is the smallest part of this you could influence?”
“Where have you seen something like this work before?”
This re‑introduces agency.
7. Reward Sense‑Making, Not Just Solutions
At the individual level, people learn very quickly what is valued. If the only recognition goes to those who fix things fast, others stop thinking and start copying. Alongside solutions, its important to acknowledge:
A clear articulation of a problem or helpful framing of a dilemma.
Surfacing of multiple options.
Insight that helped others understand or solve the problem.
This builds a culture where sense‑making is seen as a contribution.