See the Problem, Own the Problem
(Blog 9) The final step in building Positive Culture is to See the Problem and Own the Problem.
Like it or not, right or wrong, today’s society is one where the day-to-day pace is fast and often pushes us to ‘fend for ourselves.’ By ‘fend for ourselves’ I am referring to the reality of our monster TO DO Lists and the ever-quickening clock. We have enough on our plates and adding anything else can often sound awful.
When we are creating a Top 20 Culture,…a culture of Positivity, we intentionally take steps to help everyone succeed. A beautiful and highly effective way to help everyone succeed is to SEE PROBLEMS and instead of saying, “that’s not my problem,” we OWN THE PROBLEM.
How about a school example? Imagine sitting in your faculty room and complaining about little Jimmy from your fifth-grade class: “I can’t believe they sent Jimmy to my class! He can’t read at a fifth-grade level and he sure can’t read at the pace we need him to! Why didn’t they keep him back a grade or get him to where he needs to be?” This kind of a response is a CLASSIC Bottom 80 (ineffective) way to handle the situation. This response names the problem and immediately blames and shifts the problem back to the fourth-grade teacher. We suggest OWNing the problem. It’s a beautiful problem. The ‘problem’ is a child that needs a caring, loving teacher in their life to help them succeed. See the Problem and Own the Problem.
You see, if everyone’s mentality at your school, in your community, in your home, etc. had this as a natural response to problems that arise, think about how amazing your culture would be! Everyone is looking out for everyone else. It’s a culture of Problem Solvers, not Problem Namers.
The next time you come across a problem, let the words run through your head and spring you into action: ”See the Problem, Own the Problem.”
