1. Identify the Issues.

• Be clear on what the problem is. Here we just list problems but don’t try to solve them. “I feel like I’m always overwhelmed and irritable” isn’t a problem per se. These are valid feelings but what is making you feel this way? Some underlying reasons might be:
  
  • • I don’t have a clear prioritized ‘To Do’ list for the upcoming week/month so important deadlines creep up on me.
    • I have a ‘To Do’ list but I procrastinate starting tasks that I dislike doing.
    • My staff interrupt my workflow with questions throughout the day so I don’t get anything done.
    • I keep saying ‘yes’ to other people’s requests when I should find the courage to say ‘no’ sometimes.
• Remember that different people might have different views of what the issue is eg your problem could be that cashflow is tight because your subcontractors (foster/host home providers) regularly submit activity logs late thus delaying your billing. The problem they experience is the difficulty associated with manually filling out the logs, then either dropping them off or mailing them in because they have busy lives too. You both are busy and the same problem (inefficient paper log systems) is perceived differently by both parties.

2. List the possible solutions (options)

• This is the time to do some brainstorming. Remember to involve a few knowledgeable people and ask for their input too. Don’t discount any ideas at this point – put everything down. Using the example “My staff keep interrupting my workflow and I don’t get anything done” here are a few options:
  
  • • Set a time when your staff shouldn’t disturb you unless there is an emergency. You can make them feel part of the process by asking them if this ‘timeout’ should be early in the day or later. Be disciplined in not allowing staff to break the rule especially early on.
    • Resist the urge to micromanage – you can end up doing all of the work and paying other people for it!
    • Create policies and procedures that will guide your staff so they know what to do even if you’re not immediately available.
    • If you have able middle management allow them to oversee more tasks. Even one admin assistant can help ensure that the small things don’t fall through the cracks. 

3. Evaluate the options.

• What are the pluses and minuses for each option? Write them down and compare.
  
  • • Continuing the example above – setting a ‘time out’ may mean you’ll learn of certain problems a little later than before – but will anything really be lost if you don’t respond to them instantaneously? Policies and procedures can take quite a bit of time to initially create but imagine all of the repetition you’ll avoid and the better, more standardized work you’ll receive from your staff. It makes it well worth the effort. A competent admin assistant would be great too but you’ll have to develop a job description, supervise the person and can you afford another employee right now? Maybe consider an intern?

4. Select an option or options.

• What’s the best option, on the whole? What is most within your sphere of influence? That is what can you change? Start with solutions you can implement.
• Is there a way to “bundle” a number of options together for a more satisfactory solution?
  
  • • Again using the example above – you could decide to (1) implement twice weekly ‘time out’ sessions to catch up on administrative work as well as (2) try to create one policy/procedure per week to cover the most error prone or high impact (financial or clinical) work processes in the company.

5. Agree on contingencies, monitoring, and evaluation.

• Conditions may change. Make contingency agreements about foreseeable future circumstances (If-then!).
• How will you monitor compliance and follow-through?
• Create opportunities to evaluate the agreements and their implementation. (“Let’s try it this way for three months and then look at it.”)