Dealing with Problems at Work | Career Angles

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When I worked in recruiting, I was expected to firefight situations with clients and candidates alike. One of the reasons I was able to last more than 40 years in the field was because I was a very good firefighter. Problems arose all the time. I learned how to deal with them to keep moving things forward.

And then there were situations where I couldn’t.

I couldn’t figure it out.

I became stuck.

Part of the reason I felt stuck was I worked for firms where it was very clear you couldn’t ask for help. That was an institutional mistake in how the firm was constructed and led.

Over time, I learned to do an end-run to solve my problems. I found people outside of the firm to go to who could help. The formula I created was very simple.

1. Acknowledge that I couldn’t figure it out on my own.

2. Get some help.

Sometimes, my wife was a tremendous asset. Although her work was very different than mine, I could talk through scenarios, answer your questions, and begin to get unstuck. Sometimes, I would ask a friend of mine with another search firm for their opinion. Again, their questions help move the needle…