The importance of skill development and measurement have been increasing recently. Employers worldwide are looking for candidates who have the right skills. Heavily discussed trends such as digitization, sharing economy, automation, artificial intelligence are all concerned with new ways of doing things and challenging the existing frameworks of work and employment. What if human decisions will be replaced by AI? What comes if knowledge is openly accessible through platforms such as Wikipedia? Which jobs will be vanished by employing robots? These are hot questions without any certain answers yet. One thing is sure: employees will need to deal with increasing complexity and ill-structured problems which may require new types of problem solving skills and a novel problem solving mindset. This may result in a shift in employer expectations. .

Skill Universe

A skill is a developed ability of using knowledge gained in advance to solve a problem in a particular situation, while problem-solving is a mental process that involves discovering, analysing and solving problems. The ultimate goal of problem-solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue. During this mental problem solving process Case Solvers distinguishes four activities: we create and conduct a solution, collaborate with our teammates and communicate our outcome to our colleagues. This is Case Solvers’ skill universe of problem solving, which consists of skills in four major categories: create, conduct, communicate and collaborate. Let’s deepdive and have a closer look at the different problem solving skills.

The ‘4C’ constellations

To solve a complex problem, a good solution is needed. Individuals need to create this solution. To reach this, problem solvers need to demonstrate their business sense, numerical reasoning, structuring, data collection, analytical thinking and critical thinking skills.

A good solution is not enough, we have to make sure that it will happen in time. Individuals should be able to conduct the problem solving process within the given time frame. Speed, stress management, goal setting, prioritization and focus are the key success skills in order to conduct a problem solving exercise.

In most of the cases, problem solving is not an individual activity. Individuals need to work in teams and collaborate. Collaboration requires inspiration, handling criticism, delegation, following instructions, handling conflicts and giving feedback skills from the members of any kind of team.

Good solutions and collaboration are still not enough in order to solve complex problems. Teams need to be able to communicate their solution to the audience and other stakeholders. Storylining, visual, public speaking and nonverbal communication are the essential skills in this aspect.

Sounds good right? I can promise that it's not easy to perform well in each aspect. Good problem solvers have to succeed in all constellations of the universe.