All in the Family [Matt Schlegel]

One of my clients is a small-sized, innovative technology company that has been in business for over 20 years. It is a self-funded, privately held company with no venture backing. The company is like a family; it is not uncommon for an employee to say they have been with the company over 15 years. At no other technology company have I felt that the company is as much a family as it is a corporation. Working with such a close-knit group can be a double-edged sword. That is why they asked me to help.

People who work together for many years come to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses very well. They come to accept one another and resolve to work with each other through any situation. This resolution often requires being sensitive to other’s feelings and needs and taking an approach that minimizes conflict and drama in order to keep focused on getting the job done. The downside of this approach is that people will tend to downplay problems for the sake of maintaining group harmony.

My client is a group of some of the kindest, most helpful people I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Some of the adjectives that I would use to describe this group are helpful, creative, analytical, cautious and enthusiastic. Two adjectives that I would not use to describe this group are perfectionist and assertive. Yes, this group appears to have weeded out anyone who would be unwilling to put up with the problems of others and anyone who would be assertive to the point of ruffling feathers. Not that this does not happen from time to time, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

The figure shows the problem-solving dynamic that tends to occur at the company. First, there is a great reluctance to acknowledge that there is a problem in the first place. There are no systems in place to identify and report problems to the group in a systematic way. As such, most problems are raised via the squeaky-wheel method. (Cliché: Squeaky wheel gets the grease.) Once someone has a big enough problem and shares that with the right person at the company, the helpful nature of the team kicks in. They want to solve the problem for that person. The company has great strength in creativity and analysis. They bend over backwards and find a creative solution to solve that particular problem. The team will get the thrill of moving towards solving the problem. If the problem is easy enough, it will get addressed. However, if solving the problem requires any transformative change to the way the team has historically worked, there is no one there assertive enough to move the team through that transformation. The problem is addressed to the point that the squeak stops, and the team moves on to the next squeak.

With this client, my two main jobs have been to fill the role of the perfectionist and the asserter. I have helped the company put in place the tools for collecting data, analyzing the data and reporting problems. As the data reveal the problems, the helpful nature of the team kicks in and moves the team smoothly through the problem-solving process. Then, it is my role to serve as the asserter to nudge the team through any transformative changes that will help them resolve their longer term, systematic problems.

This problem-solving framework gives me the tools to understand both the steps of effective problem solving and the interpersonal dynamics that will influence the team’s progression through those steps. It also gives me the tools to explain to my client what may be missing in their skill set that is impeding them from becoming effective problem solvers.

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Matt Schlegel developed his problem-solving methodology over the past decade. He continues to use the process to help companies solve big challenges, and folds those experiences into the refinement of the process. He also consults for companies developing products jointly with Asian companies. Matt can be found at www.sakinoconsulting.com.