The Space Between Problems and Solutions

Today I want to share the second article in the Keeping Space series: The Space Between Problems and Solutions.

In my first month working with the current team, I encountered a difficulty. When reviewing RFCs, I couldn't get enough information to judge whether the proposed solutions were appropriate. Often what I received was just a rough overview without complete context or requirements analysis, so I couldn't be relatively certain whether the current solution was optimal.

I proposed a framework in a Dojo Session about a decision tree for engineering solutions.
The purpose wasn't to introduce it as a workflow, but to raise awareness and spark thinking.

Some might say, isn't this approach rather roundabout?
If you want to solve a problem, shouldn't you list it out clearly and continuously experiment and adjust based on the root cause?

I think the me from a year or two ago might have done exactly that, but now I don't particularly favor this approach.
The reason isn't entirely because I'm not familiar enough with the current team. It's just that when I encounter similar situations, I often look back at past decisions, and as time has passed, my thinking has changed considerably.

What's the difference?
In the past, I would jump in directly because I didn't expect others to change or drive things forward, so I chose to do it myself.

But now I have some different thoughts.
Sometimes, problems don't need to be solved directly, because this falls into solution-mode thinking, limiting the angle from which we see things - the classic "when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Moreover, focusing too much on the problem itself might miss opportunities to build team consensus, or even work against it.

So now I value creating space for discussion or opportunities for thinking. As for whether to decide on a solution right now - that's no longer the point.

This is why I chose to do it this way. Although I don't yet know how it will develop, I feel happy to have consciously chosen a different approach.

Because this is how I think about it: when people have choices, they can feel free. With freedom, happiness is a byproduct.