Coaching practices for Problem Solving Implementation Step

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Problem Solving Implementation Step, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

  • I know exactly what I’ve decided to do, but it’s been sitting in my head for days going nowhere
  • The problem I’m chasing is still this big blurry "make it better" cloud, and every time I try to start I spin out because I’ve never pinned down the one sharp thing I’m actually trying to solve for whom.
  • I keep fixing the thing right in front of me and the same trouble just keeps coming back in a new shape, which makes me think I’ve only been swatting at the surface
  • My kid and I agree on a fix and it sounds great in the moment, but a few days later it’s fallen apart again
  • I keep seeing this as one solid thing that either works or doesn’t, and it never occurs to me that I could pull it apart and use just one piece of it differently

Practices that may help

  1. Implement the chosen solution with a concrete plan
    Translate the chosen solution into specific actions, times, and checkpoints.
    Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical
  2. Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First
    Problem reframing means deliberately reconsidering what problem you are actually trying to solve before generating solutions. Min Basadur’s work on creative problem-solving shows that the framing you start with strongly constrains the solutions you find — changing the framing often unlocks solutions that were invisible under the original definition.
  3. Define — frame the right problem
    Synthesize your research into a single, sharp problem statement before solving.
    Design Thinking, Step by Step
  4. Climb the why–why ladder
    Ask "why is this a problem?" repeatedly to reveal the higher-level goal your current framing may be missing.
    Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First
  5. Evaluate solutions for durability: realistic, mutually satisfying, safe
    A collaborative solution that fails one of three tests — realistic, mutually satisfying, safe — will not hold.
    Collaborative Problem Solving (Ross Greene)
  6. Break apart perceptual chunks that may be blocking you
    If a problem object looks like one thing, try perceiving it as separate parts with separate functions.
    Constraint Relaxation: Escaping the Walls You Built Yourself
  7. Generate a solution analysis for the most accessible intervention point
    For your chosen intervention point, brainstorm and commit to one specific alternative.
    Behavioral Chain Analysis: The DBT Method for Understanding Problem Behaviors
  8. Distinguish diagnostic trees (why?) from solution trees (how?)
    Use a "why?" tree to find root causes and a "how?" tree to generate solutions — mixing them produces confusing structures.
    Issue Tree Analysis
  9. Map who actually owns the problem
    Identify whose problem it truly is before investing in a solution — the framing often changes when you name the real owner.
    Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First
  10. Decompose the problem into independent parameters
    Identify the key dimensions that fully describe your problem space before generating solutions.
    Morphological Analysis, Made Practical

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