Problem-Solving Mentoring

What I thought was a teachable moment for two software engineering interns turned into a wake-up call for me. I was explaining a complex optimization problem and wrapped up with, “And I’d fix it if I had more time.” One intern asked, “How? What does the solution look like?” I spent 30 minutes walking them through the solution, how I came up with it, and how I’d implement it. Two days later, the interns scheduled a code review with me. They’d put in a couple of 16-hour days and implemented the optimization. That version wasn’t pretty, but after a week and 3 iterations, they had a working implementation. I could have spent the same amount of time teaching them to implement the optimization or implementing it myself. 2 years later, the optimization was deprecated, but the interns had become exceptional software engineers. Make time to develop people on the team because that investment has a higher ROI than most other work you’ll do. Be patient with people who don’t work as fast or do everything right the first, second, and third time. It’s hard to stand back and watch, but that’s how people learn. Pair junior engineers, developers, and data scientists up to do the work with a senior++ mentor doing periodic reviews. Mentor people on real-world problems, even when the complexity exceeds their current capabilities. Teach them, but expect them to struggle with the problem independently before coming to you for help. At the senior++ and manager levels, we transition from software developers to people developers. Mentoring and teaching are capabilities that must be taught and developed, too. Invest in upskilling people making the transition, not just junior-level people.

Mentoring startups in uncertain times means not having all the answers. Lately, the market is shifting so fast that many past strategies aren’t relevant anymore. Instead of giving advice based on what worked before, I’ll need to co-create solutions with founders in real time - because none of us have all the answers right now. The biggest shift for me comes down to sharpening my listening. Innosphere founders jokingly call me their “startup psychologist” because so much of what I do is listen - not just prescribe solutions. And this year, that’s more important than ever. My new mentoring strategy will require me to: 🔎Pay close attention to the challenges founders are facing collectively and ask - what’s emerging as a universal challenge? 📚Resist the urge to jump in with solutions too early. The right answers come from fully understanding the problem first. 🤝Work alongside founders to test strategies, not just recommend them. We’ll all need to get comfortable experimenting, learning, and adjusting as we go. Mentorship isn’t about having the perfect answer. In fact, it’s never really been about that. Good mentors are good partners, ones who figure things out with their mentees. And right now, that collaboration is more important than ever.

Answers Before Questions? The Problem-Solving Trap I've found that, more often than not, solving the problem and chasing solutions are not the same thing. We get so excited about the solution that we often ignore the real issue at hand. 👉 What are solving for? I've found that asking this simple question is like my secret ingredient for success, no matter where I am in life. 👉Supervising Master's Theses: When I'm guiding students through their research design and surveys, I won't let them move forward until they clearly answer, "What are we solving for with this design?" It's a game-changer. 👉Coaching People and Teams: Goal-setting is crucial, and often people come to me with ready-made solutions they want help implementing. I'm here to help, but first, I dig deeper. "What are we solving for?" I love using the 5 Whys technique to really get to the root. 👉Running HR Programs and Designing L&D Interventions: In our fast-paced, achievement-driven environment, it's so easy to jump straight to solutions. But I make sure we always pause and ask, "What are we solving for?" (My team and leadership might be sick of me by now! 😅) 👉At Home and in Family Life: Even when I get that itch to change countries, companies, or apartments, I ground myself by honestly asking, "What am I REALLY solving for?" Most of the times, moving countries is not really the answer :) My Six Sigma training has definitely made me a better coach, HR Program Manager, and maybe even a better life partner. 😊 What about you? Have you ever jumped into implementing a solution, only to realize later that you weren't addressing the core problem? Let's discuss! #Coaching #LeadershipDevelopment #PersonalGrowth #ProfessionalDevelopment #MindsetMatters

“What problem do you want to help solve?” It’s a deceptively simple question — and one of the most powerful unlocks I’ve found in coaching and developing talent. Too often, when I’m talking with partners about their growth or how they can achieve differentiated impact (relative to their peers…), they get stuck. They tend to ask: ➡️ “What should I be working on?” ➡️ “What project should I lead?” ➡️ “What’s going to stand out?” And I get it. Especially in big, fast-moving organizations, it’s easy to feel like all the “important work” is already spoken for. But when we shift the focus from projects to problems, the fog starts to lift. 💬 “What problem do you want to help solve?” That single question has opened up more creativity, energy, and purpose than any performance framework I’ve ever seen. Because problems are everywhere — and not all of them have owners yet. Maybe it’s: • A broken process that frustrates your peers or hiring managers • A pattern in the data that’s gone uninvestigated • A pain point in the candidate experience that needs attention • A disconnect between strategy and execution • A culture or engagement issue that no one has quite put words to yet When you empower someone to look for the problem — not wait for the assignment — you help them develop the muscle of curiosity, agency, and strategic thinking. And suddenly, they’re no longer asking for permission to lead — they’re doing the work that makes a difference and gets recognized and rewarded. This mindset shift isn’t just for early in career folks either. Even more senior leaders can benefit from moving away from “what’s my next job?” toward “what problem is mine to solve right now?” So the next time someone on your team feels stuck, uninspired, or unsure of how to grow, try this: Stop asking what they want to be known for, and start asking what they want to help fix. #Leadership #Coaching #Development #ProblemSolving

Good mentors frustrate you on purpose! They refuse to give you the quick answer. They respond to your problems with more questions. They make you think when you just want solutions. Most people want shortcuts. The formula. The step-by-step guide. The guaranteed playbook. I get it. Answers feel productive. Questions feel like more work. But here's what my experience has taught me: Leaders who memorise solutions fail during their first real crisis. Leaders who learn to think clearly navigate problems they've never seen before. The difference? One group learned answers. The other group learned how to find answers. Markets shift overnight. Industries get disrupted. The strategy that worked last year becomes irrelevant next quarter. But you know what never expires, the ability to ask the right questions, to dig deeper and to challenge your own assumptions. I've experienced both sides of this. And I think giving someone an answer might solve one problem. But teaching them to ask better questions can solve hundreds. Good mentorship feels harder at the moment. You leave conversations with more questions than answers. More work to do, not less. But you walk away with something better than a solution. You walk away with confidence in your ability to find solutions. And the best mentors resist the urge to just hand over answers. They know that creating independent thinkers beats creating dependent followers every time. Because when you can ask better questions, you can handle whatever the market throws at you. When you can only follow answers, you're stuck when the rules change. . . If you're looking to sharpen your thinking or work through a challenge, feel free to reach out. Happy to help you find the right questions. . #mentorship #leadership

Most weeks, I have dozens of interactions with people about problem-solving coaching. It may be with a coachee, a prospective or current consulting client or Academy customer, with my own team, or during an exchange on LinkedIn. I often sense "fuzziness" about the purpose of coaching and how to actually do it. That's what drove me to develop our course, Problem-Solving Coaching. In it, I chronicle a real-world story about a coaching relationship with a coachee. Part of the fuzziness is because a problem-solving coach wears six hats: ◾ Teacher - when the problem-solver lacks knowledge of or experience with a specific analytical method or countermeasure that may be needed. ◾ Mentor - to help the problem-solver grow and develop both as a person and a business professional. ◾ Psychologist - to truly understand how the problem-solver thinks and what's in their way of even greater success. ◾ Motivator - Solving problems can be vexing at times. Beginning problem solvers sometimes tire from the relentless pursuit of clarity about the problem. Everyone needs a little "rah-rah" now and then when the going gets tough! 📣 ◾ Trusted advisor - Coaching needs to be done in a space with VERY high degrees of psychological safety and the coachee needs to develop trust in the coach. If the problem-solver perceives the coach can't be trusted, there's very little chance of a successful coaching relationship. ◾ Expert - Finally, coaches need to possess a decent degree of proficiency in many skill areas: problem solving itself, a wide range of analytical methods, a wide range of potential countermeasures, navigating internal politics, how to engage leaders and stakeholders, understanding human behavior—and many more. Otherwise, they won't be able to teach and guide to the degree a problem-solver may need. Most importantly, the coach needs to become expert at quickly "diagnosing" a problem solver's needs. What do they grasp easily? What do they wrestle with? In this clip from our course, I explain more about getting to know the problem solver/coachee. This is the first step to a successful coaching relationship and outcome. I'd love to hear about some of your coaching experiences, both as a coach and a coachee. Let's chat!