INTRODUCTION

“Work the problem.” It’s a phrase I often heard growing up, and I always believed it was specific to engineering. I was an aeronautical engineer’s daughter, so this made sense. I knew how my father used it—when I didn’t understand how two variables worked in trigonometry and the broken pencils were gathering under the dining room table at my feet (why was I taking trig anyway? I wanted to be an English major!), my father would say, “Just work the problem!”

It was a frustrating thing to hear because it suggested that solutions were simply lying under the surface, just beyond my attention. If I could truly see them, if I could calm my mind and focus, I could … work the problem.

This was also the advice my brother’s high school chemistry teacher would give. “The information is always there,” my brother remembers him saying. “But sometimes it is hidden or not relevant. Read the problem. Read it again. Work the problem, people.”

I didn’t know then how people beyond the scientists of my youth used this phrase in their daily lives, or if they even did. But today, working the problem is a concept we all understand in our organizations and in our working lives. And, it has inspired this book. How do we manage difficult problems at work? When things become difficult, do we have the resources we need to work the problem? And more important, how do talent development professionals respond? What do subject matter experts say?

For example, imagine you are in this webcast audience:

Grudgingly, you admit that you can understand her response. In fact, it’s supported by data. Gallup has long reported that people leave jobs because of their managers. And a 2013 Accenture study showed that while many employees would like to innovate, they aren’t supported from above. In addition, the majority of company leaders responding to a 2016 global survey by the O.C. Tanner Institute reported that while they had the encouragement, time, and resources to do their work or innovate, less than half of their employees said the same. Employee engagement is at record low numbers, but the engagement numbers for managers aren’t much higher.

So, when thinking about how I’d respond to that caller, I began to ask myself, “What would you do?”

That question ultimately led to virtual conversations with nine subject matter experts about what they would do when faced with seemingly intractable problems beyond their control. I sent them stories I’d written—fictionalized case studies—and asked them the questions we all want the answers to: “If this were your job, and if this were your problem, what would you do? How would you work the problem? Or would you quit?” Their answers were many, varied, entertaining, and so well informed. The whole process heartened me, and I hope it does the same for you to see how many ways exist to work our problems.

Work the Problem is for anyone who has ever encountered workplace problems and sought expert advice or solutions to broaden their understanding of their own predicaments.

How It’s Organized

Each fictionalized case study in this book is based on interviews I conducted with a variety of anonymous sources, supported by research and statistical data. Each case study is then followed by commentary from two subject matter experts drawn from the following— Christopher Adams, Vivian Blade, Alan De Back, Glen Earl, Tom Kaiden, Sharlyn Lauby, Ben Locwin, Rick Rittmaster, and Joe Willmore.

As you read this book, you will see that a key focus is managers in the middle. The goal was to present situations in which managers needed to navigate and influence change or manage their situation “up.” This is a particularly valuable perspective because most leadership books talk about what CEOs and senior leaders should do, but don’t necessarily talk about it from the perspective of people in the middle.

Here’s a closer look at each chapter:

• Case Study 1: Family Fade-Out—Faced with market changes, a once-successful family-owned electric light products business is struggling, and its inexperienced though tech-savvy manager of operations meets resistance in the warehouse.

• Case Study 2: “Did You Read the Memo?”—Changes at a once-respected foundation under new leadership are creating problems for its top fundraiser.

• Case Study 3: Driving the Bus—A woman software engineer manager at a tech start-up is facing challenges.

• Case Study 4: “All My People Are Great”—A longtime tech manager in a global corporation is feeling pinched by HR.

• Case Study 5: No Room at the Top—A Millennial editor is overworked and frustrated by the lack of transparency and room for promotion at a small media company.

• Case Study 6: Spread Thin in the Middle-Management Sandwich—A marketing director in a city with tourism growth possibilities is caught between a micromanaging CEO and direct reports who are juggling excessive responsibilities.

• Case Study 7: “It Couldn’t Happen Here”—A longtime successful bank branch manager is forced to make some choices when her staff is poached by a rival branch.

• Case Study 8: “We’ve Always Been Fine”—A third-generation family hotel is struggling in the modern hospitality world.

• Case Study 9: A New College Director Sees Only Faculty Myopia—A young director gets the job of his dreams, but finds himself rudderless and without authority.

• Case Study 10: Maneuvering the New Healthcare—A patient care representative tries to manage disruptions at her workplace while staying true to her profession’s wellness ideals.