Solve It!
Article | Accountability Insights
Winston Churchill once said, “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” At the end of the day, your efforts to take the Steps to Accountability are all about improving your ability to achieve your desired results. Solve It means figuring out how to fix it, to resolve it, to move it, to achieve it. The Solve It step can be the most difficult step to take as you continue your progress Above The Line.
The Solve It attitude and behavior stem from continually asking the question: “What else can I do?” By constantly and rigorously asking this question, you avoid slipping back down into the victim cycle whenever certain events occur that would otherwise seem to block the road to results. Here are some additional Solve It questions we introduce in our bestselling book, The Oz Principle that you can ask yourself:
| 1. | Do you stay engaged in solving a problem when things get difficult? | |
| 2. | Do you persistently ask the Solve It question: “What else can I do to achieve the desired results?” | |
| 3. | Do you take the initiative to explore, search, and question when solutions elude you? | |
| 4. | Do you stay conscious by challenging your current assumptions and beliefs about how you do things? | |
| 5. | Do you create new linkages in order to arrive at innovative solutions? | |
| 6. | Do you try to discover new ways of thinking about problems? |
Since solutions to thorny problems often do not readily reveal themselves, you must diligently search for them. But beware of wasting time Below The Line because that will only dull your senses and discourage your imagination from discovering creative solutions. Remember, getting Above The Line is a process, not a singular event, and the road to results is strewn with hindrances and obstacles that can easily thrust even the most accountable person back Below The Line—particularly if he or she stops asking the central question: “What else can I do to rise above my circumstances and achieve the results I want?”
If you have been participating in the blog activities we have been suggesting, then, by now, you have:
| • | Asked yourself, “Where am I Below The Line and what price am I paying to be there?” (3-9-11 blog) | |
| • | Asked three other people, “Where am I Below The Line?” (3-16-11 blog) | |
| • | Taken a personal ownership inventory and asked for feedback from someone you trust. (3-24-11) | |
| • | Identified any Phantom Realities you are being influenced by (3-30-11) |
Now, it is time to apply the Solve It step to the pesky problem or challenging circumstance you may be facing. The Solve It step may be the breakthrough step you are looking for to achieve the results you want to get. To learn more about how to create greater accountability, go to https://www.partnersinleadership.com/
Steps to Accountability, See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It, and Above the Line are trademarks of Partners In Leadership.