When You’re In a Conundrum, Use This Framework to Avoid Overwhelm

I was coaching a client yesterday. He was struggling to place a direct report under a manager as their current manager gave his notice. His first instinct was to take the person on himself, but ultimately, that wouldn’t work as he too was leaving for 3 weeks.

I could tell he was frustrated and becoming overwhelmed by this conundrum. We spin ourselves into a downward spiral when we feel like we have no options.

I asked him if he wanted to talk through this and he was like, “Absolutely.”

Where to Begin: Clearly identify the goal and the challenge, simply

You can do this with a dilemma statement. A dilemma statement looks like this: “I want to [identify your goal/objective] find him a great manager, but [identify the challenge] I don’t have anyone with the bandwidth to take him on.”

As simple as it sounds, by establishing your desired outcome and at the same time identifying your challenge, your thinking slows down and your attention is brought to the two most important details…simply stated. It takes your head out of the noise and you can concentrate on eliminating the challenge and/or fulfilling the need.

I did another one with someone today, “I want to have carve out some me-time, but I don’t have ANY time.” (Well, isn’t this every one of us.)

What happens next is usually one of two things:

Either, you brainstorm your butt off. I’m talking unobstructed brainstorming taking all the parameters, biases, and judgements off; no holding back. Any idea is relevant because the ridiculous sparks something less ridiculous.

Quality will have its turn.

With a couple helpful questions, we had ourselves a list.

Now it’s time for Quality. Look at each idea, scrutinize it, decide if it’s a viable option. Eliminate what doesn’t work, focus on what does.

Or…

Or, when you identify the challenge, a reflective chord strikes you. You realize the challenge is a smokescreen. You see past this veil and see the story you’ve been telling yourself that is keeping you stuck.

This is what happened in my second example. He stated that having no time was his easy excuse…his cover. The real story is he, “likes falling on the sword,” and “I’m playing the martyr,” he said.

Now that’s an a-ha moment.

The dilemma statement works in both solving problems tactically or promotes freer thinking that leads to more self-awareness.

I hope this helps with your own dilemmas and to guide your team in helping them cut through all the noise.