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Problem-Solving Skills for Team Members and Leaders
48,063 students
Problem-Solving Skills for Team Members and Leaders
Problem Solving Is The Core Activity of Continuous Improvement that Every Team Member Should Know
Last updated 12/2025
English
What you'll learn
- You will develop the attitudes and habits of team problem-solving that produce performance improvement.
- You will learn three models of problem-solving associated with Toyota Production System or "lean management."
- You will learn and apply a simple and direct approach to root cause analysis and situation analysis.
- You will develop and practice the skills of brainstorming and consensus reaching.
- You will practice a simple and effective model of action planning and follow through that is critical to achieving results.
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Course content
7 sections • 29 lectures • 2h 38m total length
Requirements
- There is nothing you need to know or do before the course.
Description
In the past month I have received a number of bad reviews with statements like "this is not a good course for Troopers assigned to the Highway Patrol." I have no idea how this got assigned to highway patrol troopers, but it should not have been. It is true that it is not intended or designed for highway patrol troopers. So, if you are one, please do not take this course.
Your personal success depends on your ability to lead teams! High performing team leaders are promoted and are successful entrepreneurs. Leading teams is the critical competence for leaders at all levels today. And, problem-solving is the basic methodology that drives improvement by teams and lean organizations. This short course provides the basic skills and philosophy of effective problem solving. It is based on 45 years of experience developing teams and implementing lean management or Toyota Production System. I recommend that you go through the course with your team so that you can together practice each of the methods in your real work setting. This is not an “academic” course, but rather it is based on working in manufacturing, healthcare and other industries with hundreds of teams tackling real world problem and engaging in continuous improvement.
Toyota Production System, or lean management and culture, are based on the practice of continuous improvement through problem solving. This lectures reviews the basic principles of lean that apply to problem solving.
The principles of lean that are important to how we solve problems include the following:
Respect for People
Continuous Improvement
Going to Where the Work Get's Done - the Gemba
Know the Facts - Graphing the Data and Understanding Trends
Applying the Scientific Method of Experimentation
The course covers the following:
The Lean philosophy of problem-solving and continuous improvement.
Healthy attitudes toward problem solving.
Simple situation analysis.
Root cause analysis - the "five why's?"
Brainstorming causes of problems.
The PDCA problem solving model.
The A3 problem solving model.
The skill of brainstorming.
Pareto or the 80/20 rule.
Action-Planning and follow-up
Who this course is for:
- This course is not intended or suited for individual police or "troopers" who are required to quickly solve problems of personal conflicts.
- Any manager, team leader, or team member wishing to develop the critical skills of improving performance.
- Anyone engaged in lean management or continuous improvement.