A new study reveals how to solve perhaps the single biggest problem for work leaders

We all face obstacles at work.

There are obstacles that we can prepare for well in advance so we know exactly what to do to overcome them. And then there is the other kind of obstacle, arguably the single biggest type of problem leaders can face at work, one that may have ripple effects for years. Getting it right is key.

These problems land on the doorsteps of businesses as surprise guests with little time to prepare and no contingency plan in place. In the detached language of science, they are referred to as “non-routine problems.”

Benoit Decreton, an assistant professor in strategy at Nova School of Business and Economics and a Research Associate at Ecole Polytechnique, just outside Lisbon, Portugal, has spent a lot of time considering the implications of non-routine problems and how leaders can solve them.

“An example of a non-routine problem can be seeing a big drop in customer demand for the first time,” Decreton explains.” If it’s never happened before, there are two issues: You’re not sure where the problem is coming from, and you’re not sure how to deal with it.” 

Of course, non-routine problems can leave any worker feeling extra pressure, no matter their position on the org chart. The good news is that there are methods to prepare for such unforeseen snags, which can reduce stress and foster company success.

As part of a study published in Strategic Management Journal in March 2023, Decreton and his co-authors confirm that when leaders engage in open communication and thoughtful collaboration, it can make all the difference in solving non-routine problems.

According to Decreton’s research, non-routine problem-solving should begin by returning to the source. Identifying the problem’s origin point is how an organization can decide who should be involved and who shouldn’t. Decreton and his colleagues came to their findings after collecting data on 120 non-routine problem-solving projects that occurred in 60 foreign subsidiaries of 40 multinational corporations.

“Many internal processes are standardized at the global level, so executives will be more knowledgeable about the processes because they created those processes themselves,” Decreton says.

As for unforeseen external issues, the most knowledgeable cohort will be the team who is working directly on the products that customers buy and use. Specific knowledge is needed, such as an engineer’s ability to fix an error in a digital product launch’s code, and “it’s not part of an executive’s role to be in contact with those processes on a day-to-day basis.”

Even if the problem needs the executive’s knowledge, the boss must consider when and how they will be involved. Why, you ask? Because out of the 40 multinational corporations that participated in the study by Decreton and his colleagues, unnecessary executive involvement resulted in less participation from employees and more time explaining the knowledge necessary even to begin to brainstorm solutions.

“If a middle manager chooses to involve executives, they need to be sure that doesn’t mean their team’s ideas will be shut down. Team members need to be able to speak up to share their ideas,” says Decreton. “If the workers are the ones with the local knowledge, then they need to feel empowered to challenge executive ideas and views.”