problem solving tools in social work

Strengths-Based Approach in Social Work: 6 Examples & Tools

It is a holistic, collaborative approach concerned with identifying a client’s inner and outer resources to promote resilience (Pulla, 2017).

Client strengths include their individual talents and problem-solving abilities as well as the resources available in their support networks, such as family, friends, and the wider community. In short, this approach focuses on what is strong, not just what is wrong (Baron et al., 2019).

This article will explore the strengths-based approach to social work, the different models and theories used, and some strengths assessment tools available for social workers. A strengths-based approach requires a social worker to establish a collaborative relationship with clients that develops their resilience to life’s challenges.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Strengths Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help your clients realize their unique potential and create a life that feels energizing and authentic.

This Article Contains:

Strengths-based approach in social work, social work & strengths: 3 models and theories, how does it work in practice 3 examples, performing strengths mapping explained, 3 strengths assessment tools for social workers, comprehensive list of client strengths, a look at strengths-based interviews, best resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

The strengths-based approach has been widely embraced in the social work field because of its holistic, person-centered perspective that focuses on clients’ assets rather than their deficits, pathologies, and problems.

The strengths-based approach draws on a variety of models and theories and comprises a collaboration between the social worker and their client that maps the client’s strengths and assesses these strengths as the foundation for social work intervention planning (Pattoni, 2012).

The social worker focuses on building on the client’s existing strengths , assets, and resources and the support available in their relationships and community. This avoids duplicating services that may already be available and contributes to the development of grassroots community resources as their locally targeted reach expands (Berg, 2009).

The video below from the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) explains the approach in accessible terms.

Several strengths-based models of care have been developed, including the following.

1. Asset-based community development (ABCD)

The asset-based community development approach focuses on a client’s strengths in the context of their wider network and community resources. ABCD is based on five core principles (Russell, 2017).

• Citizen led

According to this model, local people are in the driving seat of change and first establish community strengths that can be shared locally, before searching for additional support from outside agencies.

• Relationship oriented

While this approach recognizes individual clients’ strengths and skills , it also recognizes how these can be amplified by the presence of supportive relationships. Relational power means the societal whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

• Asset based

This involves focusing on what’s strong rather than what’s wrong. This focus builds on existing strengths to make them stronger and then uses them to address what’s wrong.

• Place based

This focuses on local neighborhood community development from a bottom-up rather than top-down perspective by drawing on local people’s knowledge of each other’s strengths and local resources that institutional agents often miss.

• Inclusion focused

Communities have imperceptible boundaries that define who belongs and who is deemed an outsider. The focus on inclusion recognizes that those on the edges of communities often have skills and assets that can benefit their neighbors and enrich community life as a whole.

2. Knowledge, values, ethics, theory, and skills (KVETS)

KVETS stands for knowledge, values, experience, theories, and skills (Stanley et al., 2018). It is the practice framework recommended in the UK 2014 Care Act as a strengths-based approach to social work. The model comprises a set of practice triggers to be considered when making decisions and choosing an intervention.

The aim is to provide person-centered, holistic, ethical interventions that uphold human rights and social justice, as illustrated in the diagram below.

Source: https://www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide13/law/

For further reading on KVETS, check out the SCIE’s extensive resources on the subject.

3. Local area coordination (LAC)

LAC is a strengths-based approach to social work that focuses on relationship building and developing community networks (The Local Area Coordination Network, 2019). The approach aims to provide person-centered services that are co-created with local communities. Individuals require less institutional intervention and ongoing care because they draw on existing strengths and community resources.

LAC has 10 largely self-explanatory principles:

• Citizenship for all
• Relationships matter
• People have natural authority
• Lifelong learning for all
• Information is power
• People need choice and control
• Community creates opportunity
• Everyone can contribute
• Working together is powerful
• Services should complement people’s goals

A local area coordinator is assigned to a defined neighborhood and works with people who are at risk of needing formal service intervention and may be isolated or causing concern locally.

The coordinator helps clients to identify what they want and need that is missing from life. The coordinator and client explore the client’s personal, relational, and community assets and collaborate on practical solutions to existing problems to minimize formal service intervention.

In this way, a local area coordinator helps clients build connections locally and develop skills that promote resilience and independence (Lunt & Bainbridge, 2019).

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A great way to illustrate how a strength-based approach makes a difference, is with the three inspiring examples below.

1. Embrace, Richmond, VA, United States

In the video below, a social worker from Richmond, VA, in the United States describes an Embrace neighborhood project that decided to use ABCD. This was after three separate murders in the first three weeks of 2011, and after a three- to four-year journey, the Richmond neighborhood had turned itself around.

2. Doncaster Children’s Services Trust, UK

In the video below, social workers from Doncaster Children’s Services Trust  describe how they use strengths-based approaches to get the best for children and families who face hurdles in the parenting process.

KVETS is the strengths-based framework recommended in the UK Government’s 2014 Care Act and used by social services across the United Kingdom (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2015a).

3. National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Australia

The NDIS helps children and adults with intellectual, physical, sensory, cognitive, and psychosocial disabilities get the support they need to develop their skills and independence.

They use local area coordinators to plan and implement support packages in collaboration with their service users. For a brief explanation, see the video below.

Strengths or asset mapping involves identifying individual, family, and community strengths or assets as the basis for planning social work interventions (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2015b).

Many tools can be used to map individual strengths . However, in a social work context, this usually begins by having the first of the three conversations described below and detailed in the SCIE’s three conversations model. This person-centered dialogue aims to identify a client’s resources, needs, and sources of support.

Specialist social work services, such as mental health services or children’s services, may use specific assessment tools to engage with their clients further after having this initial conversation. Some of these are discussed below.

Further strengths mapping is required to decide on a specific social work intervention. This typically takes place at a community or neighborhood level. The Rural Health Information Hub (n.d.) in the United States describes their strengths-based asset mapping exercise as:

“A systematic process of cataloging key services, benefits, and resources within the community, such as individuals’ skill sets, organizational resources, physical space, institutions, associations, and elements of the local economy.”

The local community is much more likely to buy into interventions if they build on the community resources available and support their further development. Social work services become more targeted, effective, and relevant the more they engage with and build on existing community resources.

Below is a list of community assets that might be included in each segment of an asset map.

You will find an example of an asset map on page 15 of this guide .

Using a strengths-based assessment framework ensures that a social worker conducts a holistic and balanced assessment of a client’s resources and needs that does not reduce them to a set of problems or symptoms rooted in discourses of deviance, psychopathology, frailty, or illness (Graybeal, 2001).

A strengths assessment begins with a “blossoming conversation” that should be as natural as possible. It should not be structured around service eligibility criteria, although these are addressed later. A visual mind map of the blossoming conversation is reproduced below.

Source: City of Wolverhampton Council (2017, p. 17).

The blossoming conversation refers to the initial rapport building required to progress through the three conversations and ROPES assessment processes detailed below.

1. The three conversations model

The three conversations model is a strengths-based approach to needs assessment and care planning recommended by the UK Care Act guidelines published by the SCIE. The model recommends that social workers engage their clients in three types of conversations to assess their strengths and needs (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2015a).

• First, explore people’s needs and identify their sources of personal, family, and community support.
• Second, assess risk and any crisis interventions that may be needed and establish provision.
• Third, discuss long-term outcomes and planning based on a client’s vision of a good life and how to mobilize the resources needed, including budgetary needs and drawing on personal and community strengths.

For a more detailed account of the model, you can visit the SCIE website.

2. Resources, opportunities, possibilities, exceptions, and solutions (ROPES) model

ROPES is a strengths-based framework devised by Graybeal (2001) to guide practitioners on the broader process of continuous strengths-based assessment.

The table below outlines the ROPES model with life domains that should be considered during an assessment and questions to be considered during an exploratory conversation.

Adapted from City of Wolverhampton Council (2017, p. 18).

3. The recovery model

The recovery model is a person-centered, holistic, and strengths-based approach to the provision of mental health services that contrasts sharply with the old medical model rooted in psychopathology and medication (Jacob, 2015). It emphasizes peer support during recovery as a primary strength and source of social integration, especially following a period of hospitalization.

The recovery model is a framework that identifies a service user’s strengths to build resilience. A social worker will support their client to regain control of their life after experiencing a serious mental illness. For many service users, recovery is about living a meaningful life while living with a mental health problem (Scottish Recovery Network, n.d.).

The Scottish Recovery Network (n.d.) describes the recovery model using the following four pillars:

• Champions and values lived experience by integrating it into all parts of the system.
• Embeds peer support approaches and roles in mental health services and supports.
• Offers more community-based support and choices so everyone can be supported when and where they need it.
• Works with others to create a more equal society where good mental health and wellbeing can flourish.

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The following list is not exhaustive but gives some indication of the areas a social worker and client can explore together during a strengths-based assessment and collaborative care planning (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2015b).

8 Individual strengths

• Personal qualities
• Knowledge and skills
• Relationships
• Passions and interests
• Health status
• Financial status
• Housing conditions
• Access to transport

Adapted from Berg (2009).

6 Family strengths

• Appreciation and affection – People in strong families care deeply for one another and tell each other so regularly.
• Commitment and dedication to each other’s wellbeing
• Positive ongoing communication to stay connected
• Enjoying time together
• Spiritual wellbeing and shared spiritual values/religious practice – Shared spiritual values can be considered the heart of the family and a set of shared life values that enable them to stay connected whatever happens.
• Successful management of stress and crises when they occur

Adapted from JRank (n.d.).

8 Environmental strengths

• Community groups
• Shared interest groups
• Health and social care services
• Leisure facilities
• Community buildings like libraries and community centers
• Green spaces like parks and public gardens

Strengths-based interviewing in social work practice refers to both assessment processes and the ongoing evaluation of care plans and services (City of Wolverhampton Council, 2017). As described above, strengths-based social work assessment focuses on specific types of conversations that build rapport by relating to the client as a whole person, rather than a diagnosis or set of problems.

However, one specific type of strengths-based interview is motivational interviewing (MI), an intervention that facilitates behavioral change. MI is “a collaborative, person-centered form of guiding to elicit and strengthen motivation to change” (Miller & Rollnick, 2009, p. 137).

Motivational interviewing is effective in supporting client-centered behavioral change and has an established evidence base.

It is based on the following four pillars:

• Engaging Building a relationship based on empathy and active listening
• Focusing Establishing which behaviors the client would like to change and identifying obstacles and struggles blocking such change
• Evoking Drawing out the client’s motivation for change and their ideas about how they could make changes by drawing on their strengths, assets, and resources
• Planning Collaborative action planning that provides a bridge to change

MI is a strengths-based interviewing technique that social workers use to facilitate client-led behavioral change. To find out more, look at this video interview with the founder of the MI approach, William R. Miller.

PositivePsychology.com has a range of resources you can use to support a strengths-based social work practice.

First, you can download our free worksheets Exploring Character Strengths , Strengths in Challenging Times , and Motivational Interviewing in Social Work .

In addition, we have a huge selection of articles in our dedicated Strengths & Virtues category, providing you with insight, worksheets, and further guidance.

We also offer a complete eight-module training course called the Realizing Resilience Masterclass© should you wish to dive deep and take your practice further.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others develop their strengths, check out this collection of 17 strength-finding tools for practitioners. Use them to help others better understand and harness their strengths in life-enhancing ways.

17 Exercises To Discover & Unlock Strengths

Use these 17 Strength-Finding Exercises [PDF] to help others discover and leverage their unique strengths in life, promoting enhanced performance and flourishing.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

A strengths-based approach to social work involves building a collaborative, person-centered relationship with your client that treats them as a unique individual by focusing on their personal, relational, and community strengths.

No longer is a client viewed as a diagnosis or collection of problems, but rather as a unique individual who may require additional support for a while.

This approach benefits the quality of social work relationships by promoting clients’ self-efficacy, resilience, and independence.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Strengths Exercises for free .

• Baron, S., Colomina, C., Pereira, T., & Stanley, T. (2019). Strengths-based approach: Practice framework and practice handbook . Department of Health & Social Care, United Kingdom.
• Berg, C. J. (2009). A comprehensive framework for conducting client assessments: highlighting strengths, environmental factors and hope. Journal of Practical Consulting , 3(2), 9–13.
• City of Wolverhampton Council. (2017). Adult social care strengths based assessment guide . Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://wolverhampton.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s85859/Adult%20Social%20Care%20Strength%20Based%20Assessment%20Guide.pdf
• Graybeal, C. (2001). Strengths-based social work assessment: Transforming the dominant paradigm. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services , 82 (3), 233–242.
• Jacob, K. S. (2015). Recovery model of mental illness: A complementary approach to psychiatric care. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine , 37 (2), 117–119.
• JRank. (n.d.). Family strengths: The qualities of strong families . The Marriage and Family Encyclopedia. JRank. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://family.jrank.org/pages/594/Family-Strengths-Qualities-Strong-Families.html#ixzz7M6M9kTty
• Lunt, N., & Bainbridge, L. (2019). Local area coordination: Summative evaluation . University of York. Department of Social Policy and Social Work.
• Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2009). Ten things that motivational interviewing is not. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , 37 , 129–140.
• Pattoni, L. (2012, May 1). Strengths-based approaches for working with individuals. Insight , 16. Retrieved February 26, 2022, from http://www.iriss.org.uk/resources/strengths-based-approaches-working-individuals
• Pulla, V. (2017). Strengths-based approach in social work: A distinct ethical advantage. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change , 3 (2), 97–114.
• Rural Health Information Hub. (n.d.).  Identify assets/resources available.  Retrieved March 21, 2022, from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/rural-toolkit/1/asset-identification
• Russell, C. (2017, June 2). Asset-based community development: 5 Core principles. Nurture Development . Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://www.nurturedevelopment.org/blog/asset-based-community-development-5-core-principles/
• Scottish Recovery Network. (n.d.). A new future for mental health . Scottish Recovery Network Strategic Plan 2021–2024. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://www.scottishrecovery.net/resources/scottish-recovery-network-strategic-plan/
• Social Care Institute for Excellence. (2015a). Strengths-based approaches for assessment and eligibility under the Care Act 2014 . Retrieved February 26, 2022, from http://www.scie.org.uk/care-act-2014/assessment-and-eligibility/strengths-based-approach/
• Social Care Institute for Excellence. (2015b). Care Act guidance on strengths-based approaches . Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.scie.org.uk/strengths-based-approaches/guidance
• Stanley, T., Baron, S., & Romeo, L. (2018). How social workers could make more ethical and justifiable decisions for service users . Community Care. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2018/12/21/social-workers-make-ethical-justifiable-decisions-service-users/
• The Local Area Coordination Network. (2019). It’s time for local area coordination . Community Catalysts. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://lacnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Its-Time-for-Local-Area-Coordination.pdf

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Online MSW Programs / Social Work / 6 Important Theories in Social Work

Six important theories in social work

Social work theories attempt to describe, explain and predict social events based on scientific evidence, studies and research. Social work perspectives draw from psychology, philosophy, economics, education and other fields to attempt to explain what drives and motivates people at various stages of life.

Some social work students studying for a  bachelor’s degree in social work  or  master of social work  may wonder, “Why is theory important in social work?” Studying theory ensures that aspiring professionals are both competent and confident when the time comes to apply social work theories to practice.

Why is theory important in social work?

Social work theories help social workers analyze cases, understand clients, create interventions, predict intervention results, and evaluate outcomes. While the theories are constantly evolving as new evidence is produced, referencing social work theories that have been used over time enables social workers to explore causes of behavior and identify potential solutions.

A crucial objective of learning social work theories is to train and encourage social workers to set aside personal assumptions and beliefs when engaging in social work practice. Social workers should use evidence-based theories to investigate issues and drive their decision making.

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Applying social work theory to practice

Social work theory provides a starting point for social workers to address client problems through a research-based lens.

The theories help social workers better understand complex human behaviors and social environments, which influence their clients lives and the challenges they face. A good grasp of theory that is backed by research-based scientific evidence helps guide social workers by providing them with a sense of direction and purpose.

One challenge when applying social work theories to practice is choosing the right theory for the situation. It can be difficult to assign a single theory to complex client issues. Often, it’s more practical to draw upon the knowledge of multiple theories and use that understanding to design multifaceted interventions.

List of important social work theories

The following list of social work theories includes some of the most widely referenced theories used in social work.

1. Social learning theory

Social learning theory , which is also known as social cognitive theory , was developed by psychologist Albert Bandura. This theory posits that learning occurs by observing others and modeling their behavior.

In order for social learning to occur, a person must want to emulate the person they’re watching. The individual pays close attention to the action and retains the action in memory. Then, the individual must experience a situation where the behavior can be repeated and must be motivated to repeat the behavior.

Social workers can use this theory to better understand how role models affect the behaviors and emotions of their clients. Social learning theory can also help social workers form intervention strategies that use positive modeling and reinforcement to encourage their clients to engage in new positive behaviors.

2. Systems theory

Systems theory proposes that people are products of complex systems, rather than individuals who act in isolation. According to this theory, behavior is influenced by a variety of factors that work together as a system. These factors include family, friends, social settings, religious structure, economic class, and home environment.

Systems theory can be used to treat issues like eating disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, school trauma, and risky behavior. In ecological systems theory, individuals are observed in multiple environments so that behavior is fully understood. Family systems theory examines the family as a social system influencing behavior and thoughts.

Social workers using systems theory will work to understand how their clients are influenced by the systems they’re a part of. Social workers then identify where systemic breakdowns are affecting behavior.

3. Psychosocial development theory

Psychosocial development theory  was introduced by German psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, who believed personality develops in a series of stages. Erikson created an  eight-stage theory of psychosocial development . According to the theory, the eight stages of development that people pass through in life are:

• Trust versus mistrust
• Autonomy versus shame and doubt
• Initiative versus guilt
• Industry versus inferiority
• Identity versus confusion
• Intimacy versus isolation
• Generativity versus stagnation
• Integrity versus despair

Psychosocial development theory explains that humans pass through these stages as they age. By identifying which stage of development their clients are experiencing, social workers can better understand the challenges their clients face.

4. Psychodynamic theory

Psychodynamic theory  was introduced by the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. This theory is founded on the idea that humans are biologically driven to seek gratification. The theory states that people do this based on processes that have developed outside of conscious awareness, with origins in childhood experiences. This drive influences everyday behavior, leading to actions like aggression, sex and self-preservation.

In social work, psychodynamic theory can help to explain the internal processes individuals use to guide their behavior , some of which may be unconsciously motivated. Social workers may also examine how early childhood experiences have played a role in influencing their clients’ current behavior.

5. Social exchange theory

Social exchange theory suggests that relationships are based on cost-benefit analysis. Each person seeks to maximize their benefits and is expected to reciprocate for the benefits they’ve received. When risks outweigh potential rewards, relationships may be abandoned. When one person in a relationship has greater personal resources than another, that person is predicted to have greater power as well.

Social workers can use social exchange theory to understand their clients’ relationships,  including why they continue to maintain certain relationships or abandon them.

Social exchange theory can also be applied to the techniques social workers use to connect with their clients. This theory can influence how social workers position the social worker-client relationship as one that benefits their clients.

6. Rational choice theory

Rational choice theory helps explain why people make the choices they do, by weighing risks, costs and benefits. This theory suggests that all choices are rational because people calculate the costs and benefits before making a decision. Even when a choice seems irrational, there is reasoning behind it.

This theory can help social workers understand the decision-making processes and motivations of their clients.

Six practice models in social work

Social work practice models enable social workers to implement theories in their day-to-day work. Just like a social worker may use various theories to guide their interventions, social workers may also use various practice models depending on the problems their clients encounter.

1. Cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on how thoughts and feelings influence behaviors, which can sometimes lead to psychological problems. Social workers using cognitive behavioral therapy methods help clients identify self-destructive thoughts that influence negative emotions and behaviors.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is often used for individuals who are experiencing mental health issues, mental illness or depression resulting from crisis or trauma. Social workers using cognitive behavioral therapy help their clients eliminate negative thoughts to prevent destructive behaviors and adverse outcomes.

2. Crisis intervention model

The crisis intervention model is used for clients who are experiencing crisis and trauma, such as victims of domestic violence, and for clients who require intervention to prevent physical harm or suicide. Albert R. Roberts, PhD, and Allen J. Ottens, PhD, developed a  seven-stage crisis intervention model :

• Take a psychosocial and lethality assessment.
• Rapidly establish rapport.
• Identify the major crisis cause(s).
• Enable the client to express their feelings and emotions.
• Generate and explore safe alternatives for coping.
• Create an action plan.
• Follow up after the intervention.

This social work model can be used for clients who are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm or who have undergone an acute crisis, like rape or violence.

3. Narrative therapy

Narrative therapy is the process of helping the individual recognize that they have the power to change their life story, also known as the narrative. Narrative therapy helps individuals realize that they are separate from their problems and can fix them when they view the narrative from an outside perspective.

Using narrative therapy, a social worker can help an individual create a new narrative with different positive actions. The social worker enables the individual to understand how the broader context is contributing to their narrative, so that they can be aware of pitfalls to avoid and can utilize various strategies to tackle their problems.

4. Problem-solving model

The problem-solving model was created by Helen Harris Perlman , a social worker and author of “Social Casework: A Problem-solving Process.” Using the problem-solving model, a social worker helps an individual identify a problem, create an action plan to solve it, and implement the solution. Together, the social worker and individual discuss the effectiveness of the problem-solving strategy and adjust it as necessary. The problem-solving model enables the social worker and individual to focus on one concrete problem at a time.

5. Solution-focused therapy

Solution-focused therapy involves the social worker and client identifying a problem and creating a solution based on the individual’s strengths. It’s a short-term practice model that focuses on helping clients cope with challenges using specific behaviors. Instead of focusing on changing who a client is, solution-focused therapy attempts to change a client’s actions in certain situations to achieve more favorable outcomes.

Collaborating to create solutions allows the client to play an active role in implementing necessary actions and achieving positive change.

6. Task-centered practice

Using task-centered practice, a social worker breaks down a problem into manageable tasks. The individual has deadlines to complete the tasks and agrees to meet them. Task-centered practice is a goal-setting form of social work that helps individuals make consistent steps toward improving their lives.

Instead of focusing on the past, this type of practice encourages clients to live in the present and think about how completing certain tasks will positively impact their future.

Resources to explore social work theories

Social work theories have been practiced over decades and continually evolve when new research is completed. Learn more about social work theories by exploring the resources below.

• Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work : This journal features research on evidence-based practice in social work and evaluates social work theory, techniques, and strategies.
• Journal of Social Work Practice : This journal focuses on psychodynamic and systemic social work perspectives. It features research on theory and practice and includes articles offering critical analysis of systemic and psychodynamic theory.
• Journal of Social Work : This journal includes social work research and short “think pieces” on social work theoretical understanding, policy, and practice.
• Social Work:  This journal is the official journal of the National Association of Social Workers and features articles on social work and social welfare, including new techniques and research.
• Clinical Social Work Journal:  This journal features peer-reviewed articles on clinical social work practice with individuals, groups, families, and couples. It also has articles on theory developments, practice and evidence-based clinical research.

Introductory books

• “A Brief Introduction to Social Work Theory” : This textbook by David Howe explains how social work practice is influenced by various social work theories and shows how social work theories have evolved over time.
• “An Introduction to Applying Social Work Theories and Methods”:    This book by Barbra Teater explains the most prominent social work theories and how those approaches can be used in practice.
• “Social Work Theory and Practice”:  This book by Lesley Deacon and Stephen J. Macdonald explains how social work theory informs practice for various individuals and contexts.
• “Modern Social Work Theory”:  This book by Malcolm Payne introduces the major social work practice theories and explains how to apply theory to practice.
• “An Introduction to Using Theory in Social Work Practice”:  This book by James A. Forte covers 14 social work theories and explains how to use them from engagement through evaluation.

Note: the links in this section on Social Work Theory all go to Google Books and are solely provided for your information. edX does not receive any form of compensation for these links.

Other online resources

• NASW Clinical Social Work : This section of the National Association of Social Workers website covers clinical social work practice. It features content, publications, and related resources for clinical social workers, like the “ NASW Standards for Clinical Social Work in Social Work Practice (PDF, 135 KB) .”
• Encyclopedia of Social Work:  The Encyclopedia of Social Work by the National Association of Social Workers Press and Oxford University Press features tools for applying social work theory to practice. These resources include scholarly articles and bibliographies.
• Social Work Today :  This publication features articles on current social work trends in categories like behavioral health, addictions, children and family, aging and professional practice.

Science-based social work theory helps social workers and their clients succeed

Social work theory helps professionals in the field identify and implement effective interventions for clients. An understanding of the most prominent social work theories gives social workers the tools they need to provide evidence-based treatment and help their clients overcome their problems. As social work theories continue to evolve and emerge, social workers can apply their multifaceted knowledge to unique situations and clients.

Are you considering a career in social work? Read more about the field of social work and the steps to becoming a social worker , which can vary by location. 

Last updated: November 2023

Social Work Graduate

Resources for social work graduates

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• Oct 2, 2020

Practice Model: Problem Solving

Perlman’s model, planned change process model, practice approach based on planned change model

This page has three sections:

Background Material that provides the context for the topic

A suggested Practice Approach

A list of Supporting Material / References

Feedback welcome!

Background Material

Different authors look at the problem-solving model in varying ways.

Murdach (2007) suggests the principal stages of Perlman’s problem-solving model are simply:

problem definition,

problem analysis (including the generation and review of alternatives), and

the need for specific decision about a course of action (including methods of monitoring and evaluating the results of such action).

Chenowith and Lehmann (2008) describe a planned change process model:

Chenowith and Lehman also suggest the model outlined in the Practice Approach that follows. It consists of four phases:

The engagement phase involves making contact, exploring needs and setting preliminary goals.

The assessment phase involves collecting information, prioritising issues and agreeing on action.

The intervention phase involves implementing and modifying strategies to achieve goals.

The evaluation phase involves reviewing what has happened, celebrating progress and either concluding the work or negotiating a continued relationship.

• Practice Approach

Supporting Material

(available on request)

Chenoweth, L. M. D. (2014). Road to Social Work and Human Service Practice. South Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/une/detail.action?docID=1696405

Coady, N, & Lehmann, P. (2008). The problem-solving model: A framework for integrating science and art of practice. In N. Coady & P. Lehmann, Theoretical Perspectives for Direct Social Work Practice (pp. 67-86). New York: Springer Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/une/detail.action?docID=326279

Murdach, A. D. (2007). Helen Harris Perlman and the problem solving method. Retrieved from https://allisonmurdach.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/helen-harris-perlman-and-the-problem-solving-model/

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An Everyday Social Work Approach

Practice Model: Solution-Focused Approach

Practice Model: Task Centred

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Theories Used in Social Work Practice & Practice Models

Social work theories are general explanations that are supported by evidence obtained through the scientific method. A theory may explain human behavior, for example, by describing how humans interact or how humans react to certain stimuli.

Social work practice models describe how social workers can implement theories. Practice models provide social workers with a blueprint of how to help others based on the underlying social work theory. While a theory explains why something happens, a practice model shows how to use a theory to create change.

Social Work Theories

There are many social work theories that guide social work practice. Here are some of the major theories that are generally accepted in the field of social work:

Systems theory  describes human behavior in terms of complex systems. It is premised on the idea that an effective system is based on individual needs, rewards, expectations, and attributes of the people living in the system. According to this theory, families, couples, and organization members are directly involved in resolving a problem even if it is an individual issue.

Social learning theory is based on Albert Bandura’s idea that learning occurs through observation and imitation. New behavior will continue if it is reinforced. According to this theory, rather than simply hearing a new concept and applying it, the learning process is made more efficient if the new behavior is modeled as well.

Psychosocial development theory  is an eight-stage theory of identity and psychosocial development articulated by Erik Erikson. Erikson believed everyone must pass through eight stages of development over the life cycle: hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care, and wisdom. Each stage is divided into age ranges from infancy to older adults.

Psychodynamic theory  was developed by Freud, and it explains personality in terms of conscious and unconscious forces. This social work theory describes the personality as consisting of the id (responsible for following basic instincts), the superego (attempts to follow rules and behave morally), and the ego (mediates between the id and the ego).

Transpersonal theory  proposes additional stages beyond the adult ego. In healthy individuals, these stages contribute to creativity, wisdom, and altruism. In people lacking healthy ego development, experiences can lead to psychosis.

Rational choice theory  is based on the idea that all action is fundamentally rational in character, and people calculate the risks and benefits of any action before making decisions.

Social Work Practice Models

There are many different practice models that influence the way social workers choose to help people meet their goals. Here are some of the major social work practice models used in various roles, such as case managers and therapists:

Problem solving  assists people with the problem solving process. Rather than tell clients what to do, social workers teach clients how to apply a problem solving method so they can develop their own solutions.

Task-centered practice  is a short-term treatment where clients establish specific, measurable goals. Social workers and clients collaborate together and create specific strategies and steps to begin reaching those goals.

Narrative therapy  externalizes a person’s problem by examining the story of the person’s life. In the story, the client is not defined by the problem, and the problem exists as a separate entity. Instead of focusing on a client’s depression, in this social work practice model, a client would be encouraged to fight against the depression by looking at the skills and abilities that may have previously been taken for granted.

Cognitive behavioral therapy  focuses on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Social workers assist clients in identifying patterns of irrational and self-destructive thoughts and behaviors that influence emotions.

Crisis intervention model  is used when someone is dealing with an acute crisis. The model includes seven stages: assess safety and lethality, rapport building, problem identification, address feelings, generate alternatives, develop an action plan, and follow up. This social work practice model is commonly used with clients who are expressing suicidal ideation.

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The social worker's role in the problem-solving process

First, a question: what's that mean exactly? 

The Problem-Solving Process

The problem-solving process is a systematic approach used to identify, analyze, and resolve issues or challenges. It typically involves several steps:

Identification of the Problem: The first step is to clearly define and identify the problem or issue that needs to be addressed. This involves understanding the symptoms and root causes of the problem, as well as its impact on individuals, groups, or the community.

Gathering Information: Once the problem is identified, relevant information and data are gathered to gain a deeper understanding of the issue. This may involve conducting research, collecting data, or consulting with stakeholders who are affected by or have expertise in the problem.

Analysis of the Problem: In this step, the information collected is analyzed to identify patterns, underlying causes, and contributing factors to the problem. This helps in developing a comprehensive understanding of the problem and determining possible solutions.

Generation of Solutions: Based on the analysis, a range of potential solutions or strategies is generated to address the problem. Brainstorming, creative thinking techniques, and consultation with others may be used to generate diverse options.

Evaluation of Solutions: Each potential solution is evaluated based on its feasibility, effectiveness, and potential impact. This involves considering factors such as available resources, potential risks, and alignment with goals and values.

Decision-Making: After evaluating the various solutions, a decision is made regarding which solution or combination of solutions to implement. This decision-making process may involve weighing the pros and cons of each option and considering input from stakeholders.

Implementation: Once a decision is made, the chosen solution is put into action. This may involve developing an action plan, allocating resources, and assigning responsibilities to ensure the effective implementation of the solution.

Monitoring and Evaluation: Throughout the implementation process, progress is monitored, and the effectiveness of the solution is evaluated. This allows for adjustments to be made as needed and ensures that the desired outcomes are being achieved.

Reflection and Learning: After the problem-solving process is complete, it's important to reflect on what was learned from the experience. This involves identifying strengths and weaknesses in the process, as well as any lessons learned that can be applied to future challenges.

The Social Worker's Role

Okay, so social worker's assist with all of that. The trickiest part (and the part most likely to show up on the ASWB exam) is decision making. Do social workers make decisions for clients, give advice, gently suggest...? The answer is no, sometimes, and sort-of. Client self-determination is a key component of social work ethics. Problem-solving and decision-making in social work are guided by these general principles:

Client-Centered Approach: Social workers prioritize the autonomy and self-determination of their clients. They empower clients to make informed decisions by providing them with information, options, and support rather than imposing their own opinions or solutions.

Collaborative Problem-Solving: Social workers engage in collaborative problem-solving with their clients. They work together to explore the client's concerns, goals, and available resources, and then develop strategies and plans of action that are mutually agreed upon.

Strengths-Based Perspective: Social workers focus on identifying and building upon the strengths and resources of their clients. They help clients recognize their own abilities and resilience, which can empower them to find solutions to their problems.

Non-Directive Approach: While social workers may offer suggestions or recommendations, they typically do so in a non-directive manner. They encourage clients to explore various options and consequences, and they respect the client's ultimate decisions.

Cultural Sensitivity: Social workers are sensitive to the cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and values of their clients. They recognize that advice-giving may need to be tailored to align with the cultural norms and preferences of the client.

Ethical Considerations: Social workers adhere to ethical principles, including the obligation to do no harm, maintain confidentiality, and respect the dignity and rights of their clients. They avoid giving advice that may potentially harm or exploit their clients.

Professional Boundaries: Social workers maintain professional boundaries when giving advice, ensuring that their recommendations are based on professional expertise and not influenced by personal biases or conflicts of interest.

On the Exam

ASWB exam questions on this material may look like this:

• During which step of the problem-solving process are potential solutions evaluated based on feasibility, effectiveness, and potential impact?
• In the problem-solving process, what is the purpose of gathering information?
• Which ethical principle guides social workers in giving advice during the problem-solving process?

Or may be a vignette in which client self-determination (eg re sleeping outside) is paramount.

Get ready for questions on this topic and many, many others with SWTP's full-length practice tests. Problem: need to prepare for the social work licensing exam. Solution: practice!

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Home > Blog > Social Work Interventions for Social Workers (Complete Guide)

Social Work Interventions for Social Workers (Complete Guide)

Courtney Gardner, MSW

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Are you a passionate social worker eager to make a difference in people's lives, but could you use expert guidance on the most effective intervention methods for your diverse clientele? Look no further! Get ready to dive into an exhilarating and comprehensive blog that covers everything you need to know about social work interventions, from tried-and-true evidence-based practices to innovative strategies that will take your interventions to the next level. With this valuable knowledge, you can confidently tailor your interventions to each client's unique needs and goals and make a powerful, positive impact on their lives. So, take a deep breath and prepare for an exciting journey transforming how you approach your work as a social worker!

What is a Social Work Intervention?

Social work interventions involve social workers actively engaging with individuals, families, groups, or communities who need help to bring about positive change. As social workers, our primary goal is to assist them in overcoming the obstacles that prevent them from reaching their full potential. We recognize that dealing with life's challenges can be difficult, and that is where our interventions can make a difference.

Typical Interventions Include:

Psychoeducation.

Teaching clients about their condition and treatment options.

Case management

Coordinating services to address complex needs.

Helping clients develop insight and make positive changes through discussion.

Crisis intervention

Providing immediate support in emergencies.

Promoting policies and practices that advance human rights and social justice.

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Social Work Intervention Models

As a social worker, you are responsible for ensuring the well-being of the individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities you work with. This requires monitoring progress closely and adjusting to achieve the best possible outcomes. You must be familiar with various intervention models and strategies to strengthen your practice.

Social Work Intervention Plans

Social work intervention plans are crucial tools for social workers to assist individuals , families , or groups in need. A well-planned intervention helps ensure a social worker systematically addresses a client's needs and goals. It also provides accountability by specifying objectives and deadlines and gives clients something concrete to review to track their progress. Social workers should thoroughly assess clients and their situations to create a successful intervention plan. They should then determine realistic goals and objectives and outline specific strategies, resources, and timelines. Finally, they should review and revise the plan regularly to ensure positive progress. By choosing interventions tailored to the client's unique needs and strengths, social workers can empower their clients on their journey to well-being.

Some examples of standard intervention plans include:

Safety plans

To address risks like abuse, self-harm, or addiction relapse.

Behavior plans

To help change unhealthy behaviors and build life skills.

Crisis plans

To prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Discharge plans

To ensure a smooth transition when clients exit a program or facility.

Social Work Intervention Strategies

Some key intervention strategies social workers employ include:

Motivational Interviewing

This approach helps people uncertain about making a change identify their reasons for changing and become motivated to change their behavior. The social worker asks open-ended questions that allow the client to explore their reasons for wanting to change and express statements encouraging themselves. For instance, the social worker might ask questions like, "What do you enjoy about your current situation?" and "What do you not like?" to help the client weigh the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the current state versus changing.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a type of therapy that focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions. CBT aims to help the client identify negative and unhealthy thoughts and replace them with more positive and constructive ones. Additionally, CBT provides coping strategies that can be used to manage stressful events and symptoms better. For example, a social worker may use CBT to assist a client with social anxiety disorder in challenging irrational thoughts about social interactions and teach relaxation techniques that clients can use in anxiety-provoking situations.

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Solution-focused brief therapy (sfbt).

SFBT emphasizes solutions and the client's strengths instead of concentrating on problems. During this therapy, the social worker asks questions to help the client visualize a desired future and take small steps toward positive change. For instance, the social worker may ask the client, "What would be different if a miracle solved your problem tomorrow?" which helps the client to articulate their vision for positive change.

Task-Centered Practice

The task-centered practice approach is a method that aims to achieve change through accomplishing specific objectives and tasks. The social worker and client work together to set and break goals into smaller, more manageable steps. For instance, the social worker may assist the client in creating an action plan for finding employment, which may involve updating their resume, networking, and applying to a certain number of job openings weekly.

Micro, Mezzo, and Macro Interventions in Social Work

As a social worker, you'll need to address the needs of your clients and communities through various interventions. The three primary social work intervention methods are micro, mezzo, and macro.

Micro-level interventions

Micro-level interventions  are aimed at individuals, couples, or families to deal with personal issues and bring about positive change. As a social worker, your role could involve providing counseling, skill-building, therapy, advocacy, case management, crisis intervention, or narrative therapy services to your clients. This includes assisting clients in developing coping strategies for anxiety or helping families find community resources.

Mezzo-level interventions

Mezzo-level interventions  target small groups, local organizations, and communities to improve the well-being of the larger group. Examples of mezzo interventions include organizing community events, running support groups, connecting people with local resources, and participating in community development. Social workers, for example, may work with a local school to improve its anti-bullying program.

Macro-level interventions

Macro-level interventions  involve different approaches, such as analyzing policies, running political campaigns, participating in social movements, and advocating for new legislation. Social workers, for instance, can help by pushing for increased funding for affordable housing programs through lobbying efforts and advocating for policy changes.

How to Craft Successful Social Work Interventions

Social workers play a crucial role in creating effective intervention plans that can positively change their clients' lives. By utilizing care, skill, and compassion, social workers can tailor the intervention plan to each client's unique needs. This involves collecting information through client assessments , identifying appropriate goals, and selecting customized interventions that can motivate clients and assist them in attaining greater well-being and independence. With the right approach, social work intervention plans can empower clients to overcome their challenges and lead fulfilling lives.

• Perform a comprehensive bio-psycho-social evaluation to gain insights into the client's history, mental health, relationships, and environmental factors. This aids in identifying the underlying causes of their difficulties.
• Set specific, measurable goals the client agrees to , like improving self-care, relationship skills, or daily functioning. Keep goals realistic and achievable to increase motivation and success.
• Develop a comprehensive intervention plan that includes frequency of contact, activities, homework, and ways to measure progress. Regularly review and update the plan based on client feedback and improvement.
• Help clients feel heard and supported, capable of positive change by using active listening, motivational interviewing, and empowerment skills. Strengthen interventions by building trust and rapport.

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How to choose the right intervention strategy for each client.

Social workers have a vital role to play in supporting individuals who are going through difficult times. To provide practical assistance, social workers must take a comprehensive approach and consider the client's background, values, mental health, risk factors, strengths, skills, resilience, and goals. By doing so, social workers can determine the most appropriate intervention strategies and involve the client. Working collaboratively with the client is essential to develop an approach that both parties feel confident with. Selecting the proper intervention method requires careful consideration of the client's preferences, resources, and support systems. Social workers can guide their clients toward overcoming challenges and achieving their goals by adopting a constructive approach.

The following factors can also help in formulating an effective strategy:

The Severity of the Issue

Immediate action is necessary during crises, but less severe concerns may allow time for exploration.

Client Preferences

It's essential to discuss which approach your client prefers with them. Some may want a more directive approach, while others want to be more involved in the solution development.

Available Resources

When considering available services to support the client, if options are limited, it may be necessary to use methods requiring fewer resources. It is also important to explore additional resources.

Cultural Understanding

When working with clients, it is crucial to consider their cultural beliefs and values and adapt interventions accordingly. This includes sensitivity to how different cultures view mental health issues and the social worker's role.

Likelihood of Success

Evaluate the strategies that could positively impact your client based on their circumstances. Success relies on the right fit, motivation, and follow-through. Identify barriers to determine the most viable options.

Essential Skills for Implementing Social Work Interventions

To make a meaningful difference in the lives of their clients, social workers need to possess a comprehensive understanding of the skills required to address their specific needs. By constantly improving and expanding their knowledge, they can confidently select and apply appropriate interventions tailored to their client's unique situations. This approach is rooted in empathy, compassion, and understanding, essential qualities that enable social workers to contribute to a fair and equitable society. By developing these skills, social workers can become even more impactful catalysts for change and their hard work will be rewarded with the satisfaction of transforming lives for the better.

To implement effective interventions, social workers require a diverse array of skills, such as:

Communication

Social workers need to possess excellent communication skills to establish a connection with their clients who belong to diverse backgrounds. They should be empathetic listeners and pay close attention to their clients' situations to build mutual trust and respect. Social workers must have strong verbal and written communication skills to advocate for social change and clearly and accurately convey their ideas, interventions, and strategies clearly and accurately. Engaging in compassionate dialogue, asking thoughtful questions, and having difficult conversations are all necessary skills social workers must possess.

To provide effective assistance, it is essential to take a comprehensive approach to assessing the client's needs and circumstances. This approach involves considering various factors such as their physical, emotional, and social well-being, as well as their relationships, living environment, and any obstacles that may be hindering their growth. Additionally, evaluating the client's readiness for change can help identify the most appropriate interventions to meet their needs. By conducting a thorough assessment, we can better understand our clients and provide them with the necessary support and tools they need to thrive.

Creative and Critical Thinking

Social workers play a critical role in analyzing complex situations and developing interventions specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of their clients. To achieve this, social workers must be creative, resourceful, and willing to modify standard interventions to each client's specific needs. By setting clear goals, evaluating progress, and making ethical and objective adjustments as needed, social workers can provide clients with the support and guidance they need to achieve their desired outcomes.

Cultural Awareness

As social workers, we are responsible for providing interventions that respect and honor our clients' cultural identities and backgrounds. To achieve this, we must acknowledge our biases and strive to provide culturally sensitive services that empower our clients. We can make our interventions more effective and meaningful by showing respect and understanding towards individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds. It's crucial to select interventions that align with a client's cultural beliefs and values and address any language or accessibility barriers. We can achieve better client outcomes when we deeply understand cultural relevance and necessity.

Resource Knowledge and Flexibility

As a social worker, being aware of various community resources, referral options, and collaborative services that can benefit your clients is crucial. A strong support network can significantly improve your client's well-being. To provide the best possible services, it is essential to stay updated with the latest resources and be flexible with interventions, adjusting them based on each client's response and available resources in the community. Continuous education is vital to staying up-to-date with new approaches and interventions, ensuring you can provide your clients with the best support.

It is essential to understand that specific clients may need help at a broader, systemic level. As a social worker, it is your responsibility to take action by advocating for policy changes or addressing social injustices that impact your clients and communities. Advocacy plays a vital role in the social work profession as it can create positive change and foster a more fair and equal society.

As a social worker, your knowledge of various intervention models can make a significant difference in the lives of those you serve. Equipping individuals, families, and communities with the tools they need to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals gives you the power to bring about transformational change. With your diverse skills and innovative tools like Menalyc , you can streamline administrative work and dedicate more time to helping those in need by harnessing the power of AI to create  comprehensive and accurate case notes  within minutes.  Start your free trial today ! Together, we can make a fundamental difference in the world and improve countless lives!

FAQ on Social Work Intervention Plans, Strategies, Models, and Methods

With the right tools and training, social workers can significantly impact people. Intervention plans, strategies, models, and methods are essential to guide their work effectively. They help individuals manage challenges and improve their well-being. Below are some frequently asked questions and answers about these tools:

What is a social work intervention plan?

An intervention plan outlines a social worker's goals and steps to help a client. Plans consider a client's needs, strengths, and challenges to determine the best way to support them.

What are examples of intervention strategies?

Strategies include case management, counseling, advocacy, education, and community organization. A social worker chooses strategies based on a client's situation and goals.

What are the main social work intervention models?

Models include problem-solving, solution-focused, cognitive-behavioral, and strengths-based. Each model provides a framework for how to help clients. Social workers pick models that match a client's needs.

How do I choose the right interventions?

Consider the client's challenges, needs, strengths, and goals. Also, consider the evidence for the effectiveness of different interventions. The right interventions will uphold ethical standards, respect client values, and have the best chance of helping the client.

• Baylor School of Social Work Team. (2023, May 31) .  The 3 Levels of Social Work Explained: Micro, Mezzo, Macro .  https://gsswstories.baylor.edu/blog/the-3-levels-of-social-work-explained
• Social Work License ap. (2022, October 31) .  Theories & Practice Models Used in Social Work .  https://socialworklicensemap.com/social-work-resources/theories-and-practice-mo els/
• Social Work Portal. (n.d.) .  Best Guide to Social Work Interventions, Examples, Plans & Strategies .  ttps://www.socialwo kportal.com/social-work-intervention/
• Sutton, J. (2021, July 11) .  13 Social Work Methods & Interventions for Helping Others . Positive Psychology. https://positivepsychology.com/social-work-methods/
• University of Nevada. (2022, Apr l 12) .  11 Important Social Work Theories and Methods .  https://onlinedegrees.unr.edu/blo /social-work-theories-and-methods/

All examples of mental health documentation are fictional and for informational purposes only.

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Person-Centred Approaches to Social Work Practice

• Living reference work entry
• First Online: 14 May 2022
• Cite this living reference work entry

• Adrian D. van Breda 5  

Part of the book series: Social Work ((SOWO))

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1 Citations

This chapter addresses social work practice approaches (or theories and models) that focus on facilitating change in the person, rather than change in social environment, for example. The author notes that in many countries social workers gravitate towards individual, person-centred social work. These person-centred approaches to social work, however, are not oblivious to the environments surrounding individuals. The author argues strongly that person-centred practice does and must take cognisance of the social environment, though this is made complex by social work’s reliance on practice models drawn from other professions, notably psychology. In light of this, four practice approaches developed by and conceptualised within social work receive thorough attention: task-centred social work, strengths-based social work (including the strengths perspective), relational social work and narrative therapy (with mention of solution-focused brief therapy). In addition, the chapter also addresses five practice approaches that do not emanate from social work, but are used extensively by social workers, viz. person-centred therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, psychodynamic therapy and motivational interviewing. The author draws not only on classical writings and contemporary summaries of these approaches, but also cutting-edge social work research on each of the approaches. The chapter concludes with a call to social workers to ensure the location of person-centred practice approaches within the broader social, systemic and structural environments around persons.

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Psychological and Clinical Theories

Application of Mindfulness-Based Approaches in the Context of Social Work

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Professional Skills

• Mar 8, 2022
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20 Essential Skills You Need to Be a Social Worker

Want to become a social worker? You'll need these top skills to succeed!

Andrew Moran

Business and Finance Expert

Reviewed by Chris Leitch

Social work is an important career choice to make because it requires a great deal of commitment, time and emotional energy.

With your skills — both learned and inherent — you aim to help the most vulnerable in our society: the mentally ill, the struggling family and the perpetually unemployed. It is an admirable choice of career, since you likely could have embarked upon a career that offers more financial compensation, flexibility and prestige.

This is why it’s essential that you know this is the line of work you want to do. It’s a lifetime commitment that can be rewarding at times and emotionally exhausting at others. The best way to tackle this job head-on is to enter it with your eyes wide open.

If you’re interested in entering the field of social work right after school or you want to transition to a new career , then here are several critical skills that every social worker needs.

1. Communication

In social work, communication is your primary task day in and day out.

One of the key requirements for any social worker is having the ability to communicate effectively, regularly and in various ways — verbally and in writing. You must be clear, concise and transparent about what you want your clients to do, how you’re going to assist those you are working with, and what goals you’re laying out.

Communicating with your colleagues and supervisor is also essential.

2. Active listening

Active listening is a key skill in much of a social worker’s daily role. By engaging with the other person, reflecting on what they say and following along the conversation are elements of active listening. This is an essential skill because it builds trust, establishes a cordial relationship, and conveys respect.

“To comprehend and identify a client's needs, social workers must engage in active listening,” says Alina Clark, the cofounder and marketing director of  CocoDoc . “Listening intently, focusing, asking the correct questions, and employing paraphrase and summarizing strategies all aid social workers in engaging and establishing trust with clients.”

In the end, you will help the other individual feel visible, respected and assisted — elements crucial to what the industry calls a “therapeutic alliance”.

3. Leadership

As a social worker, you’re advocating for your clients, a pursuit that requires leadership skills .

As a leader, you’re obtaining the necessary resources for clients, getting services that communities require and exacting change to empower your clients’ lives, whether they’re on social assistance or suffering from postpartum depression following the birth of their twins.

With your leadership, you’re creating new initiatives, eliminating outdated programs, and proposing policies to help everyone.

4. Emotional intelligence

Many people talk of having a high IQ, but have you heard of having a high EQ — otherwise known as emotional intelligence ?

This is something that a lot of social workers inherently have, which is often the reason why they want to enter this field. By maintaining a commendable EQ level, you’re typically self-aware and sensitive to your clients’ wellbeing.

Most importantly, perhaps with classes or guidance, you can strike a fine balance between what your intuition tells you and the knowledge you have gained through education.

5. Boundary setting

A common grievance that many social workers have about their career endeavors is that they get burned out too quickly. In social work, you’re doing your utmost to help as many people as possible, looking for multiple resources and keeping in touch with every single connection. Unfortunately, if you do too much too quickly for one client — and then the next one — you will ultimately stumble and collapse. By the end of it all, you cannot assist anyone else — you might even feel some resentment.

The best way to avoid this is to establish the appropriate and necessary boundaries, whether it is establishing working hours or not getting into intimate relationships — and this applies to colleagues and clients.

6. Critical thinking

Critical thinking is multifaceted: you apply clinical theories to your treatment, incorporate new research into your plans, and maintain an ethical stance with your clients through both basic assistance and crises.

“By gathering information through observation, interviews, and study, social workers must be able to objectively analyze each situation,” says Clark. “Social workers can make educated judgments, locate the greatest resources, and build the best strategy to serve clients by thinking critically and without bias.”

7. Intervention

You connect patients with medical professionals. You find employment opportunities for the unemployed. You get clients in touch with family members who have decided to no longer keep in touch with them.

What do all these have in common? They all require a finesse that you know how to achieve through your communication skills. What’s more, your intervention enables your clients to manage their own lives without anyone holding their hand.

8. Documentation

Like any other career, there will be bureaucracy, red tape, and paperwork — lots and lots of paperwork. This is where your documentation skills come into play. You will need to compose emails, maintain a contact list, establish progress reports, and organize a comprehensive treatment plan (if applicable).

When you embarked upon this endeavor, you never thought about how paperwork would play a large role in your daily tasks, but it is and always will be.

You may not believe it, but documentation is still a crucial role in social work because, without it, you would not be able to offer the correct and necessary assistance, since you would inevitably lose track.

9. Organization

“People who work in social care often have busy schedules and a wide range of responsibilities in addition to managing and supporting their clients, including documentation, reporting, billing and collaboration,” says Julian Goldie, the CEO of Goldie Agency . “Thus, social workers need to be extremely organized and able to prioritize clients’ needs in order to effectively manage cases.”

By knowing how to organize your workload , you are not only likely to make excellent decisions, but you are also simplifying your work environment — your office isn’t in disarray and your time is better spent with your clients.

10. Problem solving

Every day, someone comes to you to help solve their problems, whether it’s trying to stay under a roof after missing rent payments or staying away from alcohol after a rough day at the office.

It can be difficult to try and come up with reasonable and relevant solutions to ensure they do not break down, lose their jobs or return to drugs. Indeed, it can be hard, but it is your job to be a problem solver , something that is a must-have in social work.

Sure, you can practice empathy and actively listen to their issues, but it is just as important to have an inkling or an idea of how to come up with successful resolutions.

11. Understanding human relationships

This is one of the most important social work skills to have, but let’s be honest: “human relationships” is a vast term that covers a wide range of components when it comes to the connections between individuals and a social worker. For example, possessing a form of empathy to identify the other person’s experience is paramount to social work. Or, as another instance, knowing that a patient may develop romantic feelings for the social worker because of a broad array of traits the patient has, and being able to alter your behavior to avoid such situations.

Indeed, humans are complex social creatures, and trying to help troubled individuals, whether they are suffering from a debilitating disease or they can’t seem to get on the right path, can be an uphill battle. A person who understands (and utilizes) how human relationships are formed can ensure that a suitable professional does a great job when working with the patient.

12. Time management

Flexibility and dependability are the chief objectives of maintaining impeccable time management skills. With a little bit of organization and abandoning any procrastination, you can ensure you can manage your time more efficiently .

In social work, no day is the same, especially as you begin to work with more people. Time management is critical to your position, but this can be challenging when you have multiple individuals to work with as part of your job. While you want to perform your duties effectively, you also want to be flexible and dependable to maintain a level of trust you have developed with the person, which is an essential skill to have as a social worker.

13. Communicating with children

Many social workers will come into contact with children. A kid will either be the patient you work directly with or maybe a client’s son or daughter that you need to communicate with to assess a particular situation. Whatever the case may be, it is critical to know how to communicate with children, which can be difficult when you aren’t trained to work with kids, or you don’t have the natural abilities to be around young children.

So, how can you achieve this? Here are a few tips:

• Pay strict attention to the child.
• Talk about everyday things in life.
• Be open to all kinds of feelings (anger and joy, for example).
• Eliminate distractions while talking to the child, like your smartphone and pen and notepad.
• Play with the child during your questions.

14. Observation

Being observational is one of the many critical skills required of a social worker since you are combing through details and quantifying things as you notice them. This is done by maintaining an observational journal and having great active listening skills to ensure you are making notes in your mind about the individual.

15. Engagement

In the end, the most effective social worker is one who has this one key trait: engagement. Whether it’s showing interest in a case or being excited about working with someone, being an engaging social worker is a soft skill that is essentially a prerequisite for these professionals. Indeed, if you treat every case the same without any enthusiasm, the person who needs assistance will acknowledge this and refrain from opening up or offering another level of information that could be crucial.

16. Multitasking

It’s important to be able to compartmentalize cases. Being able to work on more than one thing at a time is a great skill to have, but you’ll need to make sure you don’t get information confused. You could be on the phone with one client while writing a report about another. Being able to work on two things at the same time, without confusing the information, is a great skill to have. It can be challenging to multitask, so if it isn’t one of your strengths, it might be worth looking into ways to improve your multitasking skills .

17. Respect

Treating individuals with respect is one of the more important skills you’ll need to have to become a social worker. You’ll be working with people from many diverse backgrounds with different beliefs than those you hold. Being respectful of these beliefs and treating people with dignity, no matter their background, is essential.

18. Patience

If you’re a little hot-headed and impatient, then this isn’t the right career for you. To be a social worker, you’ll need patience — buckets of it! You’ll spend hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months speaking to people to get to the bottom of their issues. There’s a high chance that their walls won’t crumble immediately, and it will take time and perseverance to get them to open up to you.

19. Dependability

Being dependable is important in building trust with your clients. If you’re a bit of a flake who misses appointments, is late, doesn’t respond in a timely manner, and changes their mind constantly, then you won’t build the level of trust needed with the client. If you’re the kind of person who’s always there when you say you will be, rain or shine, then this might be a good route for you to go.

20. Collaboration

Social workers don’t work alone; they collaborate with other agencies for the best possible outcome. Mental health social workers, for example, work with community mental health nurses, psychiatrists, and psychologists to provide the best level of care they can for their client. If you work better within a team that’s working towards a common goal, that’s great! If you’re more of a lone wolf, then a different career path might be better suited to you.

Final thoughts

Social work is a job that comes in all shapes and sizes. You may be assigned to an impoverished community that’s consumed with drug dealers, alcoholics, and high school dropouts, or you might be transferred to a hospital to work with new mothers who are dealing with a lot of mental stress. No matter what, it’s a challenging job and one that has its ups and downs.

That said, if you know you have the skills for social work, then it probably is your calling. It takes adjustment, dedication, and plenty of tears to get used to the life of a social worker. In the end, however, when you have located jobs for struggling youth, or you have ensured that a recovering drug addict has found a roof over their head, you realize that the sleepless nights and tears were all worth it.

Join the conversation! What skills do you think are important for a social worker? Let us know in the comments section below!

Originally published on 22 October 2018. Updated by Hayley Ramsey.

Career Exploration

Soft Skills

Community and Social Services

40 problem-solving techniques and processes

All teams and organizations encounter challenges. Approaching those challenges without a structured problem solving process can end up making things worse.

Proven problem solving techniques such as those outlined below can guide your group through a process of identifying problems and challenges , ideating on possible solutions , and then evaluating and implementing the most suitable .

In this post, you'll find problem-solving tools you can use to develop effective solutions. You'll also find some tips for facilitating the problem solving process and solving complex problems.

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What is problem solving?

Problem solving is a process of finding and implementing a solution to a challenge or obstacle. In most contexts, this means going through a problem solving process that begins with identifying the issue, exploring its root causes, ideating and refining possible solutions before implementing and measuring the impact of that solution.

For simple or small problems, it can be tempting to skip straight to implementing what you believe is the right solution. The danger with this approach is that without exploring the true causes of the issue, it might just occur again or your chosen solution may cause other issues.

Particularly in the world of work, good problem solving means using data to back up each step of the process, bringing in new perspectives and effectively measuring the impact of your solution.

Effective problem solving can help ensure that your team or organization is well positioned to overcome challenges, be resilient to change and create innovation. In my experience, problem solving is a combination of skillset, mindset and process, and it’s especially vital for leaders to cultivate this skill.

What is the seven step problem solving process?

A problem solving process is a step-by-step framework from going from discovering a problem all the way through to implementing a solution.

With practice, this framework can become intuitive, and innovative companies tend to have a consistent and ongoing ability to discover and tackle challenges when they come up.

You might see everything from a four step problem solving process through to seven steps. While all these processes cover roughly the same ground, I’ve found a seven step problem solving process is helpful for making all key steps legible.

We’ll outline that process here and then follow with techniques you can use to explore and work on that step of the problem solving process with a group.

The seven-step problem solving process is:

1. Problem identification 

The first stage of any problem solving process is to identify the problem(s) you need to solve. This often looks like using group discussions and activities to help a group surface and effectively articulate the challenges they’re facing and wish to resolve.

Be sure to align with your team on the exact definition and nature of the problem you’re solving. An effective process is one where everyone is pulling in the same direction – ensure clarity and alignment now to help avoid misunderstandings later.

2. Problem analysis and refinement

The process of problem analysis means ensuring that the problem you are seeking to solve is  the   right problem . Choosing the right problem to solve means you are on the right path to creating the right solution.

At this stage, you may look deeper at the problem you identified to try and discover the root cause at the level of people or process. You may also spend some time sourcing data, consulting relevant parties and creating and refining a problem statement.

Problem refinement means adjusting scope or focus of the problem you will be aiming to solve based on what comes up during your analysis. As you analyze data sources, you might discover that the root cause means you need to adjust your problem statement. Alternatively, you might find that your original problem statement is too big to be meaningful approached within your current project.

Remember that the goal of any problem refinement is to help set the stage for effective solution development and deployment. Set the right focus and get buy-in from your team here and you’ll be well positioned to move forward with confidence.

3. Solution generation

Once your group has nailed down the particulars of the problem you wish to solve, you want to encourage a free flow of ideas connecting to solving that problem. This can take the form of problem solving games that encourage creative thinking or techniquess designed to produce working prototypes of possible solutions. 

The key to ensuring the success of this stage of the problem solving process is to encourage quick, creative thinking and create an open space where all ideas are considered. The best solutions can often come from unlikely places and by using problem solving techniques that celebrate invention, you might come up with solution gold. 

4. Solution development

No solution is perfect right out of the gate. It’s important to discuss and develop the solutions your group has come up with over the course of following the previous problem solving steps in order to arrive at the best possible solution. Problem solving games used in this stage involve lots of critical thinking, measuring potential effort and impact, and looking at possible solutions analytically. 

During this stage, you will often ask your team to iterate and improve upon your front-running solutions and develop them further. Remember that problem solving strategies always benefit from a multitude of voices and opinions, and not to let ego get involved when it comes to choosing which solutions to develop and take further.

Finding the best solution is the goal of all problem solving workshops and here is the place to ensure that your solution is well thought out, sufficiently robust and fit for purpose. 

5. Decision making and planning

Nearly there! Once you’ve got a set of possible, you’ll need to make a decision on which to implement. This can be a consensus-based group decision or it might be for a leader or major stakeholder to decide. You’ll find a set of effective decision making methods below.

Once your group has reached consensus and selected a solution, there are some additional actions that also need to be decided upon. You’ll want to work on allocating ownership of the project, figure out who will do what, how the success of the solution will be measured and decide the next course of action.

Set clear accountabilities, actions, timeframes, and follow-ups for your chosen solution. Make these decisions and set clear next-steps in the problem solving workshop so that everyone is aligned and you can move forward effectively as a group. 

Ensuring that you plan for the roll-out of a solution is one of the most important problem solving steps. Without adequate planning or oversight, it can prove impossible to measure success or iterate further if the problem was not solved. 

6. Solution implementation 

This is what we were waiting for! All problem solving processes have the end goal of implementing an effective and impactful solution that your group has confidence in.

Project management and communication skills are key here – your solution may need to adjust when out in the wild or you might discover new challenges along the way. For some solutions, you might also implement a test with a small group and monitor results before rolling it out to an entire company.

You should have a clear owner for your solution who will oversee the plans you made together and help ensure they’re put into place. This person will often coordinate the implementation team and set-up processes to measure the efficacy of your solution too.

7. Solution evaluation 

So you and your team developed a great solution to a problem and have a gut feeling it’s been solved. Work done, right? Wrong. All problem solving strategies benefit from evaluation, consideration, and feedback.

You might find that the solution does not work for everyone, might create new problems, or is potentially so successful that you will want to roll it out to larger teams or as part of other initiatives. 

None of that is possible without taking the time to evaluate the success of the solution you developed in your problem solving model and adjust if necessary.

Remember that the problem solving process is often iterative and it can be common to not solve complex issues on the first try. Even when this is the case, you and your team will have generated learning that will be important for future problem solving workshops or in other parts of the organization. 

It’s also worth underlining how important record keeping is throughout the problem solving process. If a solution didn’t work, you need to have the data and records to see why that was the case. If you go back to the drawing board, notes from the previous workshop can help save time.

What does an effective problem solving process look like?

Every effective problem solving process begins with an agenda . In our experience, a well-structured problem solving workshop is one of the best methods for successfully guiding a group from exploring a problem to implementing a solution.

The format of a workshop ensures that you can get buy-in from your group, encourage free-thinking and solution exploration before making a decision on what to implement following the session.

This Design Sprint 2.0 template is an effective problem solving process from top agency AJ&Smart. It’s a great format for the entire problem solving process, with four-days of workshops designed to surface issues, explore solutions and even test a solution.

Check it for an example of how you might structure and run a problem solving process and feel free to copy and adjust it your needs!

For a shorter process you can run in a single afternoon, this remote problem solving agenda will guide you effectively in just a couple of hours.

Whatever the length of your workshop, by using SessionLab, it’s easy to go from an idea to a complete agenda . Start by dragging and dropping your core problem solving activities into place . Add timings, breaks and necessary materials before sharing your agenda with your colleagues.

The resulting agenda will be your guide to an effective and productive problem solving session that will also help you stay organized on the day!

Complete problem-solving methods

In this section, we’ll look at in-depth problem-solving methods that provide a complete end-to-end process for developing effective solutions. These will help guide your team from the discovery and definition of a problem through to delivering the right solution.

If you’re looking for an all-encompassing method or problem-solving model, these processes are a great place to start. They’ll ask your team to challenge preconceived ideas and adopt a mindset for solving problems more effectively.

Six Thinking Hats

Individual approaches to solving a problem can be very different based on what team or role an individual holds. It can be easy for existing biases or perspectives to find their way into the mix, or for internal politics to direct a conversation.

Six Thinking Hats is a classic method for identifying the problems that need to be solved and enables your team to consider them from different angles, whether that is by focusing on facts and data, creative solutions, or by considering why a particular solution might not work.

Like all problem-solving frameworks, Six Thinking Hats is effective at helping teams remove roadblocks from a conversation or discussion and come to terms with all the aspects necessary to solve complex problems.

The Six Thinking Hats   #creative thinking   #meeting facilitation   #problem solving   #issue resolution   #idea generation   #conflict resolution   The Six Thinking Hats are used by individuals and groups to separate out conflicting styles of thinking. They enable and encourage a group of people to think constructively together in exploring and implementing change, rather than using argument to fight over who is right and who is wrong.

Lightning Decision Jam

Featured courtesy of Jonathan Courtney of AJ&Smart Berlin, Lightning Decision Jam is one of those strategies that should be in every facilitation toolbox. Exploring problems and finding solutions is often creative in nature, though as with any creative process, there is the potential to lose focus and get lost.

Unstructured discussions might get you there in the end, but it’s much more effective to use a method that creates a clear process and team focus.

In Lightning Decision Jam, participants are invited to begin by writing challenges, concerns, or mistakes on post-its without discussing them before then being invited by the moderator to present them to the group.

From there, the team vote on which problems to solve and are guided through steps that will allow them to reframe those problems, create solutions and then decide what to execute on. 

By deciding the problems that need to be solved as a team before moving on, this group process is great for ensuring the whole team is aligned and can take ownership over the next stages. 

Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ)   #action   #decision making   #problem solving   #issue analysis   #innovation   #design   #remote-friendly   It doesn’t matter where you work and what your job role is, if you work with other people together as a team, you will always encounter the same challenges: Unclear goals and miscommunication that cause busy work and overtime Unstructured meetings that leave attendants tired, confused and without clear outcomes. Frustration builds up because internal challenges to productivity are not addressed Sudden changes in priorities lead to a loss of focus and momentum Muddled compromise takes the place of clear decision- making, leaving everybody to come up with their own interpretation. In short, a lack of structure leads to a waste of time and effort, projects that drag on for too long and frustrated, burnt out teams. AJ&Smart has worked with some of the most innovative, productive companies in the world. What sets their teams apart from others is not better tools, bigger talent or more beautiful offices. The secret sauce to becoming a more productive, more creative and happier team is simple: Replace all open discussion or brainstorming with a structured process that leads to more ideas, clearer decisions and better outcomes. When a good process provides guardrails and a clear path to follow, it becomes easier to come up with ideas, make decisions and solve problems. This is why AJ&Smart created Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ). It’s a simple and short, but powerful group exercise that can be run either in-person, in the same room, or remotely with distributed teams.

Problem Definition Process

While problems can be complex, the problem-solving methods you use to identify and solve those problems can often be simple in design. 

By taking the time to truly identify and define a problem before asking the group to reframe the challenge as an opportunity, this method is a great way to enable change.

Begin by identifying a focus question and exploring the ways in which it manifests before splitting into five teams who will each consider the problem using a different method: escape, reversal, exaggeration, distortion or wishful. Teams develop a problem objective and create ideas in line with their method before then feeding them back to the group.

This method is great for enabling in-depth discussions while also creating space for finding creative solutions too!

Problem Definition   #problem solving   #idea generation   #creativity   #online   #remote-friendly   A problem solving technique to define a problem, challenge or opportunity and to generate ideas.

The 5 Whys 

Sometimes, a group needs to go further with their strategies and analyze the root cause at the heart of organizational issues. An RCA or root cause analysis is the process of identifying what is at the heart of business problems or recurring challenges. 

The 5 Whys is a simple and effective method of helping a group go find the root cause of any problem or challenge and conduct analysis that will deliver results. 

By beginning with the creation of a problem statement and going through five stages to refine it, The 5 Whys provides everything you need to truly discover the cause of an issue.

The 5 Whys   #hyperisland   #innovation   This simple and powerful method is useful for getting to the core of a problem or challenge. As the title suggests, the group defines a problems, then asks the question “why” five times, often using the resulting explanation as a starting point for creative problem solving.

World Cafe is a simple but powerful facilitation technique to help bigger groups to focus their energy and attention on solving complex problems.

World Cafe enables this approach by creating a relaxed atmosphere where participants are able to self-organize and explore topics relevant and important to them which are themed around a central problem-solving purpose. Create the right atmosphere by modeling your space after a cafe and after guiding the group through the method, let them take the lead!

Making problem-solving a part of your organization’s culture in the long term can be a difficult undertaking. More approachable formats like World Cafe can be especially effective in bringing people unfamiliar with workshops into the fold. 

World Cafe   #hyperisland   #innovation   #issue analysis   World Café is a simple yet powerful method, originated by Juanita Brown, for enabling meaningful conversations driven completely by participants and the topics that are relevant and important to them. Facilitators create a cafe-style space and provide simple guidelines. Participants then self-organize and explore a set of relevant topics or questions for conversation.

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)

One of the best approaches is to create a safe space for a group to share and discover practices and behaviors that can help them find their own solutions.

With DAD, you can help a group choose which problems they wish to solve and which approaches they will take to do so. It’s great at helping remove resistance to change and can help get buy-in at every level too!

This process of enabling frontline ownership is great in ensuring follow-through and is one of the methods you will want in your toolbox as a facilitator.

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)   #idea generation   #liberating structures   #action   #issue analysis   #remote-friendly   DADs make it easy for a group or community to discover practices and behaviors that enable some individuals (without access to special resources and facing the same constraints) to find better solutions than their peers to common problems. These are called positive deviant (PD) behaviors and practices. DADs make it possible for people in the group, unit, or community to discover by themselves these PD practices. DADs also create favorable conditions for stimulating participants’ creativity in spaces where they can feel safe to invent new and more effective practices. Resistance to change evaporates as participants are unleashed to choose freely which practices they will adopt or try and which problems they will tackle. DADs make it possible to achieve frontline ownership of solutions.

Design Sprint 2.0

Want to see how a team can solve big problems and move forward with prototyping and testing solutions in a few days? The Design Sprint 2.0 template from Jake Knapp, author of Sprint, is a complete agenda for a with proven results.

Developing the right agenda can involve difficult but necessary planning. Ensuring all the correct steps are followed can also be stressful or time-consuming depending on your level of experience.

Use this complete 4-day workshop template if you are finding there is no obvious solution to your challenge and want to focus your team around a specific problem that might require a shortcut to launching a minimum viable product or waiting for the organization-wide implementation of a solution.

Open space technology

Open space technology- developed by Harrison Owen – creates a space where large groups are invited to take ownership of their problem solving and lead individual sessions. Open space technology is a great format when you have a great deal of expertise and insight in the room and want to allow for different takes and approaches on a particular theme or problem you need to be solved.

Start by bringing your participants together to align around a central theme and focus their efforts. Explain the ground rules to help guide the problem-solving process and then invite members to identify any issue connecting to the central theme that they are interested in and are prepared to take responsibility for.

Once participants have decided on their approach to the core theme, they write their issue on a piece of paper, announce it to the group, pick a session time and place, and post the paper on the wall. As the wall fills up with sessions, the group is then invited to join the sessions that interest them the most and which they can contribute to, then you’re ready to begin!

Everyone joins the problem-solving group they’ve signed up to, record the discussion and if appropriate, findings can then be shared with the rest of the group afterward.

Open Space Technology   #action plan   #idea generation   #problem solving   #issue analysis   #large group   #online   #remote-friendly   Open Space is a methodology for large groups to create their agenda discerning important topics for discussion, suitable for conferences, community gatherings and whole system facilitation

Techniques to identify and analyze problems

Using a problem-solving method to help a team identify and analyze a problem can be a quick and effective addition to any workshop or meeting.

While further actions are always necessary, you can generate momentum and alignment easily, and these activities are a great place to get started.

We’ve put together this list of techniques to help you and your team with problem identification, analysis, and discussion that sets the foundation for developing effective solutions.

Let’s take a look!

Fishbone Analysis

Organizational or team challenges are rarely simple, and it’s important to remember that one problem can be an indication of something that goes deeper and may require further consideration to be solved.

Fishbone Analysis helps groups to dig deeper and understand the origins of a problem. It’s a great example of a root cause analysis method that is simple for everyone on a team to get their head around. 

Participants in this activity are asked to annotate a diagram of a fish, first adding the problem or issue to be worked on at the head of a fish before then brainstorming the root causes of the problem and adding them as bones on the fish. 

Using abstractions such as a diagram of a fish can really help a team break out of their regular thinking and develop a creative approach.

Fishbone Analysis   #problem solving   ##root cause analysis   #decision making   #online facilitation   A process to help identify and understand the origins of problems, issues or observations.

Problem Tree 

Encouraging visual thinking can be an essential part of many strategies. By simply reframing and clarifying problems, a group can move towards developing a problem solving model that works for them. 

In Problem Tree, groups are asked to first brainstorm a list of problems – these can be design problems, team problems or larger business problems – and then organize them into a hierarchy. The hierarchy could be from most important to least important or abstract to practical, though the key thing with problem solving games that involve this aspect is that your group has some way of managing and sorting all the issues that are raised.

Once you have a list of problems that need to be solved and have organized them accordingly, you’re then well-positioned for the next problem solving steps.

Problem tree   #define intentions   #create   #design   #issue analysis   A problem tree is a tool to clarify the hierarchy of problems addressed by the team within a design project; it represents high level problems or related sublevel problems.

SWOT Analysis

Chances are you’ve heard of the SWOT Analysis before. This problem-solving method focuses on identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is a tried and tested method for both individuals and teams.

Start by creating a desired end state or outcome and bare this in mind – any process solving model is made more effective by knowing what you are moving towards. Create a quadrant made up of the four categories of a SWOT analysis and ask participants to generate ideas based on each of those quadrants.

Once you have those ideas assembled in their quadrants, cluster them together based on their affinity with other ideas. These clusters are then used to facilitate group conversations and move things forward. 

SWOT analysis   #gamestorming   #problem solving   #action   #meeting facilitation   The SWOT Analysis is a long-standing technique of looking at what we have, with respect to the desired end state, as well as what we could improve on. It gives us an opportunity to gauge approaching opportunities and dangers, and assess the seriousness of the conditions that affect our future. When we understand those conditions, we can influence what comes next.

Agreement-Certainty Matrix

Not every problem-solving approach is right for every challenge, and deciding on the right method for the challenge at hand is a key part of being an effective team.

The Agreement Certainty matrix helps teams align on the nature of the challenges facing them. By sorting problems from simple to chaotic, your team can understand what methods are suitable for each problem and what they can do to ensure effective results. 

If you are already using Liberating Structures techniques as part of your problem-solving strategy, the Agreement-Certainty Matrix can be an invaluable addition to your process. We’ve found it particularly if you are having issues with recurring problems in your organization and want to go deeper in understanding the root cause. 

Agreement-Certainty Matrix   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   #problem solving   You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex , and chaotic .  A problem is simple when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate.  It is complicated when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired results predictably.  A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed but outcomes are not predictable in detail.  Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to identify a path forward.  A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences: simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.”  The Liberating Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.

Organizing and charting a team’s progress can be important in ensuring its success. SQUID (Sequential Question and Insight Diagram) is a great model that allows a team to effectively switch between giving questions and answers and develop the skills they need to stay on track throughout the process. 

Begin with two different colored sticky notes – one for questions and one for answers – and with your central topic (the head of the squid) on the board. Ask the group to first come up with a series of questions connected to their best guess of how to approach the topic. Ask the group to come up with answers to those questions, fix them to the board and connect them with a line. After some discussion, go back to question mode by responding to the generated answers or other points on the board.

It’s rewarding to see a diagram grow throughout the exercise, and a completed SQUID can provide a visual resource for future effort and as an example for other teams.

SQUID   #gamestorming   #project planning   #issue analysis   #problem solving   When exploring an information space, it’s important for a group to know where they are at any given time. By using SQUID, a group charts out the territory as they go and can navigate accordingly. SQUID stands for Sequential Question and Insight Diagram.

To continue with our nautical theme, Speed Boat is a short and sweet activity that can help a team quickly identify what employees, clients or service users might have a problem with and analyze what might be standing in the way of achieving a solution.

Methods that allow for a group to make observations, have insights and obtain those eureka moments quickly are invaluable when trying to solve complex problems.

In Speed Boat, the approach is to first consider what anchors and challenges might be holding an organization (or boat) back. Bonus points if you are able to identify any sharks in the water and develop ideas that can also deal with competitors!   

Speed Boat   #gamestorming   #problem solving   #action   Speedboat is a short and sweet way to identify what your employees or clients don’t like about your product/service or what’s standing in the way of a desired goal.

The Journalistic Six

Some of the most effective ways of solving problems is by encouraging teams to be more inclusive and diverse in their thinking.

Based on the six key questions journalism students are taught to answer in articles and news stories, The Journalistic Six helps create teams to see the whole picture. By using who, what, when, where, why, and how to facilitate the conversation and encourage creative thinking, your team can make sure that the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the are covered exhaustively and thoughtfully. Reporter’s notebook and dictaphone optional.

The Journalistic Six – Who What When Where Why How   #idea generation   #issue analysis   #problem solving   #online   #creative thinking   #remote-friendly   A questioning method for generating, explaining, investigating ideas.

Individual and group perspectives are incredibly important, but what happens if people are set in their minds and need a change of perspective in order to approach a problem more effectively?

Flip It is a method we love because it is both simple to understand and run, and allows groups to understand how their perspectives and biases are formed. 

Participants in Flip It are first invited to consider concerns, issues, or problems from a perspective of fear and write them on a flip chart. Then, the group is asked to consider those same issues from a perspective of hope and flip their understanding.  

No problem and solution is free from existing bias and by changing perspectives with Flip It, you can then develop a problem solving model quickly and effectively.

Flip It!   #gamestorming   #problem solving   #action   Often, a change in a problem or situation comes simply from a change in our perspectives. Flip It! is a quick game designed to show players that perspectives are made, not born.

LEGO Challenge

Now for an activity that is a little out of the (toy) box. LEGO Serious Play is a facilitation methodology that can be used to improve creative thinking and problem-solving skills. 

The LEGO Challenge includes giving each member of the team an assignment that is hidden from the rest of the group while they create a structure without speaking.

What the LEGO challenge brings to the table is a fun working example of working with stakeholders who might not be on the same page to solve problems. Also, it’s LEGO! Who doesn’t love LEGO! 

LEGO Challenge   #hyperisland   #team   A team-building activity in which groups must work together to build a structure out of LEGO, but each individual has a secret “assignment” which makes the collaborative process more challenging. It emphasizes group communication, leadership dynamics, conflict, cooperation, patience and problem solving strategy.

What, So What, Now What?

If not carefully managed, the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the problem-solving process can actually create more problems and misunderstandings.

The What, So What, Now What? problem-solving activity is designed to help collect insights and move forward while also eliminating the possibility of disagreement when it comes to identifying, clarifying, and analyzing organizational or work problems. 

Facilitation is all about bringing groups together so that might work on a shared goal and the best problem-solving strategies ensure that teams are aligned in purpose, if not initially in opinion or insight.

Throughout the three steps of this game, you give everyone on a team to reflect on a problem by asking what happened, why it is important, and what actions should then be taken. 

This can be a great activity for bringing our individual perceptions about a problem or challenge and contextualizing it in a larger group setting. This is one of the most important problem-solving skills you can bring to your organization.

W³ – What, So What, Now What?   #issue analysis   #innovation   #liberating structures   You can help groups reflect on a shared experience in a way that builds understanding and spurs coordinated action while avoiding unproductive conflict. It is possible for every voice to be heard while simultaneously sifting for insights and shaping new direction. Progressing in stages makes this practical—from collecting facts about What Happened to making sense of these facts with So What and finally to what actions logically follow with Now What . The shared progression eliminates most of the misunderstandings that otherwise fuel disagreements about what to do. Voila!

Journalists  

Problem analysis can be one of the most important and decisive stages of all problem-solving tools. Sometimes, a team can become bogged down in the details and are unable to move forward.

Journalists is an activity that can avoid a group from getting stuck in the problem identification or problem analysis stages of the process.

In Journalists, the group is invited to draft the front page of a fictional newspaper and figure out what stories deserve to be on the cover and what headlines those stories will have. By reframing how your problems and challenges are approached, you can help a team move productively through the process and be better prepared for the steps to follow.

Journalists   #vision   #big picture   #issue analysis   #remote-friendly   This is an exercise to use when the group gets stuck in details and struggles to see the big picture. Also good for defining a vision.

Problem-solving techniques for brainstorming solutions

Now you have the context and background of the problem you are trying to solving, now comes the time to start ideating and thinking about how you’ll solve the issue.

Here, you’ll want to encourage creative, free thinking and speed. Get as many ideas out as possible and explore different perspectives so you have the raw material for the next step.

Looking at a problem from a new angle can be one of the most effective ways of creating an effective solution. TRIZ is a problem-solving tool that asks the group to consider what they must not do in order to solve a challenge.

By reversing the discussion, new topics and taboo subjects often emerge, allowing the group to think more deeply and create ideas that confront the status quo in a safe and meaningful way. If you’re working on a problem that you’ve tried to solve before, TRIZ is a great problem-solving method to help your team get unblocked.

Making Space with TRIZ   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   #issue resolution   You can clear space for innovation by helping a group let go of what it knows (but rarely admits) limits its success and by inviting creative destruction. TRIZ makes it possible to challenge sacred cows safely and encourages heretical thinking. The question “What must we stop doing to make progress on our deepest purpose?” induces seriously fun yet very courageous conversations. Since laughter often erupts, issues that are otherwise taboo get a chance to be aired and confronted. With creative destruction come opportunities for renewal as local action and innovation rush in to fill the vacuum. Whoosh!

Mindspin  

Brainstorming is part of the bread and butter of the problem-solving process and all problem-solving strategies benefit from getting ideas out and challenging a team to generate solutions quickly. 

With Mindspin, participants are encouraged not only to generate ideas but to do so under time constraints and by slamming down cards and passing them on. By doing multiple rounds, your team can begin with a free generation of possible solutions before moving on to developing those solutions and encouraging further ideation. 

This is one of our favorite problem-solving activities and can be great for keeping the energy up throughout the workshop. Remember the importance of helping people become engaged in the process – energizing problem-solving techniques like Mindspin can help ensure your team stays engaged and happy, even when the problems they’re coming together to solve are complex. 

MindSpin   #teampedia   #idea generation   #problem solving   #action   A fast and loud method to enhance brainstorming within a team. Since this activity has more than round ideas that are repetitive can be ruled out leaving more creative and innovative answers to the challenge.

The Creativity Dice

One of the most useful problem solving skills you can teach your team is of approaching challenges with creativity, flexibility, and openness. Games like The Creativity Dice allow teams to overcome the potential hurdle of too much linear thinking and approach the process with a sense of fun and speed. 

In The Creativity Dice, participants are organized around a topic and roll a dice to determine what they will work on for a period of 3 minutes at a time. They might roll a 3 and work on investigating factual information on the chosen topic. They might roll a 1 and work on identifying the specific goals, standards, or criteria for the session.

Encouraging rapid work and iteration while asking participants to be flexible are great skills to cultivate. Having a stage for idea incubation in this game is also important. Moments of pause can help ensure the ideas that are put forward are the most suitable. 

The Creativity Dice   #creativity   #problem solving   #thiagi   #issue analysis   Too much linear thinking is hazardous to creative problem solving. To be creative, you should approach the problem (or the opportunity) from different points of view. You should leave a thought hanging in mid-air and move to another. This skipping around prevents premature closure and lets your brain incubate one line of thought while you consciously pursue another.

Idea and Concept Development

Brainstorming without structure can quickly become chaotic or frustrating. In a problem-solving context, having an ideation framework to follow can help ensure your team is both creative and disciplined.

In this method, you’ll find an idea generation process that encourages your group to brainstorm effectively before developing their ideas and begin clustering them together. By using concepts such as Yes and…, more is more and postponing judgement, you can create the ideal conditions for brainstorming with ease.

Idea & Concept Development   #hyperisland   #innovation   #idea generation   Ideation and Concept Development is a process for groups to work creatively and collaboratively to generate creative ideas. It’s a general approach that can be adapted and customized to suit many different scenarios. It includes basic principles for idea generation and several steps for groups to work with. It also includes steps for idea selection and development.

Problem-solving techniques for developing and refining solutions 

The success of any problem-solving process can be measured by the solutions it produces. After you’ve defined the issue, explored existing ideas, and ideated, it’s time to develop and refine your ideas in order to bring them closer to a solution that actually solves the problem.

Use these problem-solving techniques when you want to help your team think through their ideas and refine them as part of your problem solving process.

Improved Solutions

After a team has successfully identified a problem and come up with a few solutions, it can be tempting to call the work of the problem-solving process complete. That said, the first solution is not necessarily the best, and by including a further review and reflection activity into your problem-solving model, you can ensure your group reaches the best possible result. 

One of a number of problem-solving games from Thiagi Group, Improved Solutions helps you go the extra mile and develop suggested solutions with close consideration and peer review. By supporting the discussion of several problems at once and by shifting team roles throughout, this problem-solving technique is a dynamic way of finding the best solution. 

Improved Solutions   #creativity   #thiagi   #problem solving   #action   #team   You can improve any solution by objectively reviewing its strengths and weaknesses and making suitable adjustments. In this creativity framegame, you improve the solutions to several problems. To maintain objective detachment, you deal with a different problem during each of six rounds and assume different roles (problem owner, consultant, basher, booster, enhancer, and evaluator) during each round. At the conclusion of the activity, each player ends up with two solutions to her problem.

Four Step Sketch

Creative thinking and visual ideation does not need to be confined to the opening stages of your problem-solving strategies. Exercises that include sketching and prototyping on paper can be effective at the solution finding and development stage of the process, and can be great for keeping a team engaged. 

By going from simple notes to a crazy 8s round that involves rapidly sketching 8 variations on their ideas before then producing a final solution sketch, the group is able to iterate quickly and visually. Problem-solving techniques like Four-Step Sketch are great if you have a group of different thinkers and want to change things up from a more textual or discussion-based approach.

Four-Step Sketch   #design sprint   #innovation   #idea generation   #remote-friendly   The four-step sketch is an exercise that helps people to create well-formed concepts through a structured process that includes: Review key information Start design work on paper,  Consider multiple variations , Create a detailed solution . This exercise is preceded by a set of other activities allowing the group to clarify the challenge they want to solve. See how the Four Step Sketch exercise fits into a Design Sprint

Ensuring that everyone in a group is able to contribute to a discussion is vital during any problem solving process. Not only does this ensure all bases are covered, but its then easier to get buy-in and accountability when people have been able to contribute to the process.

1-2-4-All is a tried and tested facilitation technique where participants are asked to first brainstorm on a topic on their own. Next, they discuss and share ideas in a pair before moving into a small group. Those groups are then asked to present the best idea from their discussion to the rest of the team.

This method can be used in many different contexts effectively, though I find it particularly shines in the idea development stage of the process. Giving each participant time to concretize their ideas and develop them in progressively larger groups can create a great space for both innovation and psychological safety.

1-2-4-All   #idea generation   #liberating structures   #issue analysis   With this facilitation technique you can immediately include everyone regardless of how large the group is. You can generate better ideas and more of them faster than ever before. You can tap the know-how and imagination that is distributed widely in places not known in advance. Open, generative conversation unfolds. Ideas and solutions are sifted in rapid fashion. Most importantly, participants own the ideas, so follow-up and implementation is simplified. No buy-in strategies needed! Simple and elegant!

15% Solutions

Some problems are simpler than others and with the right problem-solving activities, you can empower people to take immediate actions that can help create organizational change. 

Part of the liberating structures toolkit, 15% solutions is a problem-solving technique that focuses on finding and implementing solutions quickly. A process of iterating and making small changes quickly can help generate momentum and an appetite for solving complex problems.

Problem-solving strategies can live and die on whether people are onboard. Getting some quick wins is a great way of getting people behind the process.   

It can be extremely empowering for a team to realize that problem-solving techniques can be deployed quickly and easily and delineate between things they can positively impact and those things they cannot change. 

15% Solutions   #action   #liberating structures   #remote-friendly   You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference.  15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change.  With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

Problem-solving techniques for making decisions and planning

After your group is happy with the possible solutions you’ve developed, now comes the time to choose which to implement. There’s more than one way to make a decision and the best option is often dependant on the needs and set-up of your group.

Sometimes, it’s the case that you’ll want to vote as a group on what is likely to be the most impactful solution. Other times, it might be down to a decision maker or major stakeholder to make the final decision. Whatever your process, here’s some techniques you can use to help you make a decision during your problem solving process.

How-Now-Wow Matrix

The problem-solving process is often creative, as complex problems usually require a change of thinking and creative response in order to find the best solutions. While it’s common for the first stages to encourage creative thinking, groups can often gravitate to familiar solutions when it comes to the end of the process. 

When selecting solutions, you don’t want to lose your creative energy! The How-Now-Wow Matrix from Gamestorming is a great problem-solving activity that enables a group to stay creative and think out of the box when it comes to selecting the right solution for a given problem.

Problem-solving techniques that encourage creative thinking and the ideation and selection of new solutions can be the most effective in organisational change. Give the How-Now-Wow Matrix a go, and not just for how pleasant it is to say out loud. 

How-Now-Wow Matrix   #gamestorming   #idea generation   #remote-friendly   When people want to develop new ideas, they most often think out of the box in the brainstorming or divergent phase. However, when it comes to convergence, people often end up picking ideas that are most familiar to them. This is called a ‘creative paradox’ or a ‘creadox’. The How-Now-Wow matrix is an idea selection tool that breaks the creadox by forcing people to weigh each idea on 2 parameters.

Impact and Effort Matrix

All problem-solving techniques hope to not only find solutions to a given problem or challenge but to find the best solution. When it comes to finding a solution, groups are invited to put on their decision-making hats and really think about how a proposed idea would work in practice. 

The Impact and Effort Matrix is one of the problem-solving techniques that fall into this camp, empowering participants to first generate ideas and then categorize them into a 2×2 matrix based on impact and effort.

Activities that invite critical thinking while remaining simple are invaluable. Use the Impact and Effort Matrix to move from ideation and towards evaluating potential solutions before then committing to them. 

Impact and Effort Matrix   #gamestorming   #decision making   #action   #remote-friendly   In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

If you’ve followed each of the problem-solving steps with your group successfully, you should move towards the end of your process with heaps of possible solutions developed with a specific problem in mind. But how do you help a group go from ideation to putting a solution into action? 

Dotmocracy – or Dot Voting -is a tried and tested method of helping a team in the problem-solving process make decisions and put actions in place with a degree of oversight and consensus. 

One of the problem-solving techniques that should be in every facilitator’s toolbox, Dot Voting is fast and effective and can help identify the most popular and best solutions and help bring a group to a decision effectively. 

Dotmocracy   #action   #decision making   #group prioritization   #hyperisland   #remote-friendly   Dotmocracy is a simple method for group prioritization or decision-making. It is not an activity on its own, but a method to use in processes where prioritization or decision-making is the aim. The method supports a group to quickly see which options are most popular or relevant. The options or ideas are written on post-its and stuck up on a wall for the whole group to see. Each person votes for the options they think are the strongest, and that information is used to inform a decision.

Straddling the gap between decision making and planning, MoSCoW is a simple and effective method that allows a group team to easily prioritize a set of possible options.

Use this method in a problem solving process by collecting and summarizing all your possible solutions and then categorize them into 4 sections: “Must have”, “Should have”, “Could have”, or “Would like but won‘t get”.

This method is particularly useful when its less about choosing one possible solution and more about prioritorizing which to do first and which may not fit in the scope of your project. In my experience, complex challenges often require multiple small fixes, and this method can be a great way to move from a pile of things you’d all like to do to a structured plan.

MoSCoW   #define intentions   #create   #design   #action   #remote-friendly   MoSCoW is a method that allows the team to prioritize the different features that they will work on. Features are then categorized into “Must have”, “Should have”, “Could have”, or “Would like but won‘t get”. To be used at the beginning of a timeslot (for example during Sprint planning) and when planning is needed.

When it comes to managing the rollout of a solution, clarity and accountability are key factors in ensuring the success of the project. The RAACI chart is a simple but effective model for setting roles and responsibilities as part of a planning session.

Start by listing each person involved in the project and put them into the following groups in order to make it clear who is responsible for what during the rollout of your solution.

• Responsibility  (Which person and/or team will be taking action?)
• Authority  (At what “point” must the responsible person check in before going further?)
• Accountability  (Who must the responsible person check in with?)
• Consultation  (Who must be consulted by the responsible person before decisions are made?)
• Information  (Who must be informed of decisions, once made?)

Ensure this information is easily accessible and use it to inform who does what and who is looped into discussions and kept up to date.

RAACI   #roles and responsibility   #teamwork   #project management   Clarifying roles and responsibilities, levels of autonomy/latitude in decision making, and levels of engagement among diverse stakeholders.

Problem-solving warm-up activities

All facilitators know that warm-ups and icebreakers are useful for any workshop or group process. Problem-solving workshops are no different.

Use these problem-solving techniques to warm up a group and prepare them for the rest of the process. Activating your group by tapping into some of the top problem-solving skills can be one of the best ways to see great outcomes from your session.

Check-in / Check-out

Solid processes are planned from beginning to end, and the best facilitators know that setting the tone and establishing a safe, open environment can be integral to a successful problem-solving process. Check-in / Check-out is a great way to begin and/or bookend a problem-solving workshop. Checking in to a session emphasizes that everyone will be seen, heard, and expected to contribute. 

If you are running a series of meetings, setting a consistent pattern of checking in and checking out can really help your team get into a groove. We recommend this opening-closing activity for small to medium-sized groups though it can work with large groups if they’re disciplined!

Check-in / Check-out   #team   #opening   #closing   #hyperisland   #remote-friendly   Either checking-in or checking-out is a simple way for a team to open or close a process, symbolically and in a collaborative way. Checking-in/out invites each member in a group to be present, seen and heard, and to express a reflection or a feeling. Checking-in emphasizes presence, focus and group commitment; checking-out emphasizes reflection and symbolic closure.

Doodling Together  

Thinking creatively and not being afraid to make suggestions are important problem-solving skills for any group or team, and warming up by encouraging these behaviors is a great way to start. 

Doodling Together is one of our favorite creative ice breaker games – it’s quick, effective, and fun and can make all following problem-solving steps easier by encouraging a group to collaborate visually. By passing cards and adding additional items as they go, the workshop group gets into a groove of co-creation and idea development that is crucial to finding solutions to problems. 

Doodling Together   #collaboration   #creativity   #teamwork   #fun   #team   #visual methods   #energiser   #icebreaker   #remote-friendly   Create wild, weird and often funny postcards together & establish a group’s creative confidence.

Show and Tell

You might remember some version of Show and Tell from being a kid in school and it’s a great problem-solving activity to kick off a session.

Asking participants to prepare a little something before a workshop by bringing an object for show and tell can help them warm up before the session has even begun! Games that include a physical object can also help encourage early engagement before moving onto more big-picture thinking.

By asking your participants to tell stories about why they chose to bring a particular item to the group, you can help teams see things from new perspectives and see both differences and similarities in the way they approach a topic. Great groundwork for approaching a problem-solving process as a team! 

Show and Tell   #gamestorming   #action   #opening   #meeting facilitation   Show and Tell taps into the power of metaphors to reveal players’ underlying assumptions and associations around a topic The aim of the game is to get a deeper understanding of stakeholders’ perspectives on anything—a new project, an organizational restructuring, a shift in the company’s vision or team dynamic.

Constellations

Who doesn’t love stars? Constellations is a great warm-up activity for any workshop as it gets people up off their feet, energized, and ready to engage in new ways with established topics. It’s also great for showing existing beliefs, biases, and patterns that can come into play as part of your session.

Using warm-up games that help build trust and connection while also allowing for non-verbal responses can be great for easing people into the problem-solving process and encouraging engagement from everyone in the group. Constellations is great in large spaces that allow for movement and is definitely a practical exercise to allow the group to see patterns that are otherwise invisible. 

Constellations   #trust   #connection   #opening   #coaching   #patterns   #system   Individuals express their response to a statement or idea by standing closer or further from a central object. Used with teams to reveal system, hidden patterns, perspectives.

Draw a Tree

Problem-solving games that help raise group awareness through a central, unifying metaphor can be effective ways to warm-up a group in any problem-solving model.

Draw a Tree is a simple warm-up activity you can use in any group and which can provide a quick jolt of energy. Start by asking your participants to draw a tree in just 45 seconds – they can choose whether it will be abstract or realistic. 

Once the timer is up, ask the group how many people included the roots of the tree and use this as a means to discuss how we can ignore important parts of any system simply because they are not visible.

All problem-solving strategies are made more effective by thinking of problems critically and by exposing things that may not normally come to light. Warm-up games like Draw a Tree are great in that they quickly demonstrate some key problem-solving skills in an accessible and effective way.

Draw a Tree   #thiagi   #opening   #perspectives   #remote-friendly   With this game you can raise awarness about being more mindful, and aware of the environment we live in.

Closing activities for a problem-solving process

Each step of the problem-solving workshop benefits from an intelligent deployment of activities, games, and techniques. Bringing your session to an effective close helps ensure that solutions are followed through on and that you also celebrate what has been achieved.

Here are some problem-solving activities you can use to effectively close a workshop or meeting and ensure the great work you’ve done can continue afterward.

One Breath Feedback

Maintaining attention and focus during the closing stages of a problem-solving workshop can be tricky and so being concise when giving feedback can be important. It’s easy to incur “death by feedback” should some team members go on for too long sharing their perspectives in a quick feedback round. 

One Breath Feedback is a great closing activity for workshops. You give everyone an opportunity to provide feedback on what they’ve done but only in the space of a single breath. This keeps feedback short and to the point and means that everyone is encouraged to provide the most important piece of feedback to them. 

One breath feedback   #closing   #feedback   #action   This is a feedback round in just one breath that excels in maintaining attention: each participants is able to speak during just one breath … for most people that’s around 20 to 25 seconds … unless of course you’ve been a deep sea diver in which case you’ll be able to do it for longer.

Who What When Matrix 

Matrices feature as part of many effective problem-solving strategies and with good reason. They are easily recognizable, simple to use, and generate results.

The Who What When Matrix is a great tool to use when closing your problem-solving session by attributing a who, what and when to the actions and solutions you have decided upon. The resulting matrix is a simple, easy-to-follow way of ensuring your team can move forward. 

Great solutions can’t be enacted without action and ownership. Your problem-solving process should include a stage for allocating tasks to individuals or teams and creating a realistic timeframe for those solutions to be implemented or checked out. Use this method to keep the solution implementation process clear and simple for all involved. 

Who/What/When Matrix   #gamestorming   #action   #project planning   With Who/What/When matrix, you can connect people with clear actions they have defined and have committed to.

Response cards

Group discussion can comprise the bulk of most problem-solving activities and by the end of the process, you might find that your team is talked out! 

Providing a means for your team to give feedback with short written notes can ensure everyone is head and can contribute without the need to stand up and talk. Depending on the needs of the group, giving an alternative can help ensure everyone can contribute to your problem-solving model in the way that makes the most sense for them.

Response Cards is a great way to close a workshop if you are looking for a gentle warm-down and want to get some swift discussion around some of the feedback that is raised. 

Response Cards   #debriefing   #closing   #structured sharing   #questions and answers   #thiagi   #action   It can be hard to involve everyone during a closing of a session. Some might stay in the background or get unheard because of louder participants. However, with the use of Response Cards, everyone will be involved in providing feedback or clarify questions at the end of a session.

Tips for effective problem solving

Problem-solving activities are only one part of the puzzle. While a great method can help unlock your team’s ability to solve problems, without a thoughtful approach and strong facilitation the solutions may not be fit for purpose.

Let’s take a look at some problem-solving tips you can apply to any process to help it be a success!

Clearly define the problem

Jumping straight to solutions can be tempting, though without first clearly articulating a problem, the solution might not be the right one. Many of the problem-solving activities below include sections where the problem is explored and clearly defined before moving on.

This is a vital part of the problem-solving process and taking the time to fully define an issue can save time and effort later. A clear definition helps identify irrelevant information and it also ensures that your team sets off on the right track.

Don’t jump to conclusions

It’s easy for groups to exhibit cognitive bias or have preconceived ideas about both problems and potential solutions. Be sure to back up any problem statements or potential solutions with facts, research, and adequate forethought.

The best techniques ask participants to be methodical and challenge preconceived notions. Make sure you give the group enough time and space to collect relevant information and consider the problem in a new way. By approaching the process with a clear, rational mindset, you’ll often find that better solutions are more forthcoming.  

Try different approaches  

Problems come in all shapes and sizes and so too should the methods you use to solve them. If you find that one approach isn’t yielding results and your team isn’t finding different solutions, try mixing it up. You’ll be surprised at how using a new creative activity can unblock your team and generate great solutions.

Don’t take it personally 

Depending on the nature of your team or organizational problems, it’s easy for conversations to get heated. While it’s good for participants to be engaged in the discussions, ensure that emotions don’t run too high and that blame isn’t thrown around while finding solutions.

You’re all in it together, and even if your team or area is seeing problems, that isn’t necessarily a disparagement of you personally. Using facilitation skills to manage group dynamics is one effective method of helping conversations be more constructive.

Get the right people in the room

Your problem-solving method is often only as effective as the group using it. Getting the right people on the job and managing the number of people present is important too!

If the group is too small, you may not get enough different perspectives to effectively solve a problem. If the group is too large, you can go round and round during the ideation stages.

Creating the right group makeup is also important in ensuring you have the necessary expertise and skillset to both identify and follow up on potential solutions. Carefully consider who to include at each stage to help ensure your problem-solving method is followed and positioned for success.

Create psychologically safe spaces for discussion

Identifying a problem accurately also requires that all members of a group are able to contribute their views in an open and safe manner.

It can be tough for people to stand up and contribute if the problems or challenges are emotive or personal in nature. Try and create a psychologically safe space for these kinds of discussions and where possible, create regular opportunities for challenges to be brought up organically.

Document everything

The best solutions can take refinement, iteration, and reflection to come out. Get into a habit of documenting your process in order to keep all the learnings from the session and to allow ideas to mature and develop. Many of the methods below involve the creation of documents or shared resources. Be sure to keep and share these so everyone can benefit from the work done!

Bring a facilitator 

Facilitation is all about making group processes easier. With a subject as potentially emotive and important as problem-solving, having an impartial third party in the form of a facilitator can make all the difference in finding great solutions and keeping the process moving. Consider bringing a facilitator to your problem-solving session to get better results and generate meaningful solutions!

Develop your problem-solving skills

It takes time and practice to be an effective problem solver. While some roles or participants might more naturally gravitate towards problem-solving, it can take development and planning to help everyone create better solutions.

You might develop a training program, run a problem-solving workshop or simply ask your team to practice using the techniques below. Check out our post on problem-solving skills to see how you and your group can develop the right mental process and be more resilient to issues too!

Design a great agenda

Workshops are a great format for solving problems. With the right approach, you can focus a group and help them find the solutions to their own problems. But designing a process can be time-consuming and finding the right activities can be difficult.

Check out our workshop planning guide to level-up your agenda design and start running more effective workshops. Need inspiration? Check out templates designed by expert facilitators to help you kickstart your process!

Save time and effort creating an effective problem solving process

A structured problem solving process is a surefire way of solving tough problems, discovering creative solutions and driving organizational change. But how can you design for successful outcomes?

With SessionLab, it’s easy to design engaging workshops that deliver results. Drag, drop and reorder blocks  to build your agenda. When you make changes or update your agenda, your session  timing   adjusts automatically , saving you time on manual adjustments.

Collaborating with stakeholders or clients? Share your agenda with a single click and collaborate in real-time. No more sending documents back and forth over email.

Explore  how to use SessionLab  to design effective problem solving workshops or  watch this five minute video  to see the planner in action!

Over to you

The problem-solving process can often be as complicated and multifaceted as the problems they are set-up to solve. With the right problem-solving techniques and a mix of exercises designed to guide discussion and generate purposeful ideas, we hope we’ve given you the tools to find the best solutions as simply and easily as possible.

Is there a problem-solving technique that you are missing here? Do you have a favorite activity or method you use when facilitating? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you! 

James Smart is Head of Content at SessionLab. He’s also a creative facilitator who has run workshops and designed courses for establishments like the National Centre for Writing, UK. He especially enjoys working with young people and empowering others in their creative practice.

thank you very much for these excellent techniques

Certainly wonderful article, very detailed. Shared!

Your list of techniques for problem solving can be helpfully extended by adding TRIZ to the list of techniques. TRIZ has 40 problem solving techniques derived from methods inventros and patent holders used to get new patents. About 10-12 are general approaches. many organization sponsor classes in TRIZ that are used to solve business problems or general organiztational problems. You can take a look at TRIZ and dwonload a free internet booklet to see if you feel it shound be included per your selection process.

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