Problem Solving
Summary
Problem solving is a critical skill for high-performing teams. It is the culmination of team communication, elevated trust, out-of-the-box thinking, and the ability to play with new and potentially unrelated ideas until a solution is created. Teams that get “stuck” have a difficult time solving problems because they begin to believe that they simply cannot solve them. The games discussed in the chapter are designed to get teams into the problem-solving mind-set. They aim to open team members’ minds to new solutions, encourage them to listen to fellow teammates, work together as a team even if they do not understand the idea entirely, and most of all, help them recognize when they have solved a key problem and celebrate it. These games are a great starting point and way to get teams to ask, “If we can solve this, what else can we solve?”