interpersonal and problem solving training

Essential Interpersonal Skills Everyone Should Develop

Sometimes called “soft skills” or “people skills,” these tools are key to creating and maintaining a successful career.

“She’s a people person.” You’ve heard a colleague, manager, friend or relative described that way and you know exactly what it means. This person eases through the workday like a soft summer breeze, feathers rarely ruffled, hackles seldom raised. 

13 Essential Interpersonal Skills

Communication, active listening, emotional intelligence, relational intelligence, decision making, collaboration, objective effectiveness, problem solving, conflict resolution, negotiation.

What’s their secret? Finely developed and assiduously deployed interpersonal skills. “Interpersonal skills are often referred to as ‘people skills’ or ‘social skills,’” said Roberta Matuson, president of Matuson Consulting and author of Can We Talk? Seven Principles for Managing Difficult Conversations at Work. 

What Are Interpersonal Skills? 

“In a nutshell, interpersonal skills are the skills that help us work well with others,” said John Waldmann, CEO and founder of Homebase , a San Francisco, California-based company that makes a time-tracking and employee scheduling app. “They’re the competencies we use to communicate, solve problems, be a part of a team, and move people and projects forward,” Waldmann said.  

“Developing your interpersonal skills, while it may seem touchy-feely, can be an important aspect of your career growth into leadership and roles with a greater scope of responsibility.” - Patrick Hayes, chief strategy officer, UncommonX, Chicago

Interpersonal skills come naturally to some people, but they can be developed and improved with time, experience and even training programs, Waldmann said. In the early days of Homebase, he said he found it “uncomfortable” to pitch the business. “But the more I practiced, the better I got,” he said. “Without taking the chance on developing those skills — communication, curiosity, empathy, adaptability and a lot of perseverance — Homebase wouldn’t be where it is today.”

Interpersonal skills work together as a package. It’s difficult to excel at one skill without excelling at the others. For instance, communication involves verbal and nonverbal skills as well as listening. Listening, “the ability to truly hear what people are saying,” Matuson said, is difficult without emotional intelligence , which is the ability to comprehend and handle emotions. Decision making and problem solving are entwined, as are collaboration and teamwork.

Employers value strong interpersonal skills because they help teams function more effectively,” said Jill Bowman, director of people at New York-based fintech company Octane . Interpersonal skills such as active listening, collaboration, empathy, team building, negotiation and leadership develop over time and can be improved with practice and training, Bowman said.

13 Interpersonal Skills Examples

“How we share ourselves in words and spoken thoughts, express through our physical reactions via body language and actively seek to understand others through listening are crucial to building other interpersonal/soft skills such as teamwork, conflict resolution and negotiation,” said Jamie Johnson, career advisor at the University of Phoenix . Well-developed communication skills create foundational people skills required to successfully interact with others and build fresh and positive personal and professional connections, Johnson added.

“Having the self confidence and conviction to make yourself heard allows you to increase collaboration with others and be an advocate in fostering your own success.” - Meighan (Meg) Newhouse, Inspirant Group, Naperville, Illinois

Communication requires both verbal and nonverbal skills. Verbal skills are the ability to articulate, in writing and while speaking, what you’re thinking, what you need and what you want to contribute, said Meighan (Meg) Newhouse, CEO and cofounder at Inspirant Group , a management consulting company based in Naperville, Illinois. 

“Having the self confidence and conviction to make yourself heard allows you to increase collaboration with others and be an advocate in fostering your own success,” Newhouse said, adding that the best way to develop this skill is to push through fear and “just do it.” 

Nonverbal skills include making eye contact, proper body language (for instance, arms not crossed in a defensive stance) and gestures, all of which can make a difference in people feeling engaged and comfortable, Newhouse said. 

Ever talk to someone whose mind seems to be on everything but what you’re saying? Active listening means engaging with the person with whom you’re talking, not just listening with one ear as you formulate what to say in response.

Active listening is crucial in the workplace, where people must interact in order to overcome challenges, said Mike Grossman, CEO of GoodHire , a Redwood City, California-based company that runs background checks on prospective employees. Active listening involves nonverbal communication, including uncrossed arms, maintaining eye contact and leaning in toward the speaker, Grossman said. 

Strong active listening also means asking specific questions about what the speaker is saying, as well as verbally affirming that you’re paying attention without interrupting the speaker’s train of thought, Grossman said. “This conveys engagement and gives you a fundamentally deeper understanding of the topic being discussed,” he said. 

More on Soft Skills How to Advance Your Tech Career With Nontechnical Skills

Relational intelligence is the ability to successfully connect with people and build strong, long-lasting relationships, said Adam Bandelli , an organizational psychologist who has pioneered the concept and written a book, Relational Intelligence: The Five Essential Skills You Need to Build Life-Changing Relationships , about it. 

It’s the everything bagel of interpersonal skills, encompassing establishing rapport, understanding others, embracing individual differences, developing trust, cultivating influence and serving others.

• Establishing rapport requires making a strong first impression, finding similarities and common ground, and creating a safe and enjoyable space for people to have a positive connection.

• Understanding others requires “good self-awareness and EQ, being curious and inquisitive, and actively listening to others,” Bandelli said. “It’s about being intentional in putting in the time and energy to get to know people on a deep level.”

• Embracing individual differences means understanding and accepting that people might be different from you, and those differences, be they sexual orientation, gender, ethnicities, race, religion or socioeconomic background, are what makes teams strong. 

• Developing trust requires commitment, consistency, character, courage and integrity. “Leaders need to continually deposit into a bank account of trust to build a sense of camaraderie and commitment from their people,” Bandelli said, noting that employees tend to stay with companies when they have a sound relationship with leaders. Once trust is gained, “you can’t use it to manipulate, control or use people” he said. “Trust is not about controlling your people.”

• Cultivating influence means having a positive and meaningful impact on people, whether it’s teammates, direct reports or the entire organization. To develop this part of relational intelligence, find a mentor who has superb interpersonal skills, Bandelli said. 

• Practicing these five essential relational intelligence skills is about servant leadership. No matter their place on the organizational chart, “great leaders know that serving their people leads to higher levels of performance, goals and objectives are attained, KPIs are delivered, and organizations achieve great financial success and profitability,” Bandelli said.

Effectively responding to challenges and questions and offering well-thought-out and convincing evidence and responses is part of the interpersonal/soft skills tool bag, said Johnson of University of Phoenix. 

The art of persuasion is as much about gaining a new perspective as it is convincing someone to your side or “winning” an argument: “They may provide valuable insight into issues and may give you the ability to voice your thoughts and opinions in a situation that can provide another perspective,” Johnson said. 

You need emotional intelligence to manage and leverage your and other people’s emotions, said Donna McGeorge , a productivity coach based in Australia. “It is the ability to understand the way people feel and react, monitor your own state and to use this to make good judgments and to avoid or solve problems,” she said. Developing emotional intelligence builds strong workplace relationships that will help you and your team achieve your goals.

The building blocks of emotional intelligence are self regulation, which is managing your feelings, emotions and behavior in healthy ways, including adapting when necessary; self awareness, or knowing your strengths and weaknesses; other awareness, which is picking up emotional cues and group dynamics and having empathy for the needs of others; building and maintaining relationships via clear communication, McGeorge said.  

It’s how we identify and choose among alternatives and is closely related to problem solving, McGeorge said. Decision-making is far from the rational process we might believe it is, she added, citing a 2000 study by social psychologists Jennifer Lerner and Dacher Kelter. The two found that “fearful people made pessimistic judgments of future events and angry people made optimistic judgments,” the report said. “In other words, we are at risk of making dumb decisions when we are not in full control of our emotions,” McGeorge said. 

Information overload, which results in the illusion of knowledge, incomplete information, or even being under deadline pressure can result in poor decisions, McGeorge said. Lack of sleep, too, has a “tremendous impact” on decision-making, she said. Finally, being bombarded with decisions to make can result in decision fatigue, which can lead to poor decision-making. 

This is one of the interpersonal skills that really pulls together all the skills. Effective teamwork requires communication skills, the ability to support and respect teammates, the ability to think and learn out loud (for instance, “so what I hear you saying is...” or “if I understand you correctly, you’d like us to…”), and the ability to “listen, really listen,” McGeorge said. “Even better, listen with an intention to have your mind changed.” 

The benefits of effective teamwork stretch beyond accomplishing goals, she added. “When done right, there’s almost an alchemy of unique gifts, talents and skills that can create a competitive advantage and have people feel great about their work,” McGeorge said.

“Employers frequently want you to rely on and help others in order to achieve a common goal,” said Shiv Gupta, CEO of Incrementors , an inbound marketing company based in Sacramento, California. Collaboration means knowing when to step back and be supportive and when to take the lead. Collaboration is also entwined with teamwork. “As a successful team player, you should have a variety of the aforementioned talents, including empathy, respect, bargaining, and communication, as well as a positive attitude,” Gupta said. 

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This interpersonal skill combines assertion and the ability to say no, said Lisa Bahar , an adjunct professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, and a licensed marriage and family therapist and clinical counselor. 

An example of objective effectiveness in use would be describing a situation, expressing your feelings and opinions, asking for what you want, and then helping the other person understand that what you want benefits both of you. “This is not intended to be manipulative,” Bahar said. “There are also skills, when a person responds, which include being mindful of your objective and learning how to ignore attacks.”  

These skills depend on the ability to use analytical and creative thinking to find solutions, said Amy Zimmerman, chief people officer at Atlanta, Georgia-based digital payment system Relay Payments and cofounder of leadership consultancy PeopleCo . Analysis, persuasion, logical reasoning, persistence, brainstorming and decision-making are all skills required to effectively solve problems, she said. 

It’s a way for two or more parties to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement among them. It’s a five-step process, starting with defining the source of the conflict, looking beyond the incident, requesting solutions, identifying solutions both sides can support, and reaching an agreement, Zimmerman said.

More on Soft Skills Why Engineers Should Sharpen Their Soft Skills Along With Their Technical Skills

This critical skill involves listening to the other party, understanding where they’re coming from as well as what’s important to them, said Andrea Ippolito, CEO and founder of Ithaca, New York-based SimpliFed , a telehealth platform focused on lactation, child nutrition and on-demand support for new parents. 

Successful negotiators identify the ZOPA, or zone of possible agreement, which is the common area on which both sides agree. “By understanding this zone, it allows you to meet somewhere in there for each party to accomplish what they need,” Ippolito said. 

High-quality negotiating skills help get internal and external stakeholders to buy into what you are trying to communicate, said Joe Vu, digital marketing manager at Fairport, New York-based QuickFi , maker of an app that simplifies business-equipment financing. “Using the right data insights and context can help strengthen your negotiation, and ultimately help you become a better communicator and leader,” he said. 

It’s accepting that other people can and will think and behave differently than you do. “Tolerance can be a challenge in the workplace because of individual disagreements or personal biases,” said Sam Cohen, founder of Gold Tree Consulting , a growth marketing agency based in Austin, Texas. Tolerance is acquired through exposure to different points of view and ways of thinking, and also with experience managing changes. “Change is imminent,” Cohen said, recommending meditation and practicing patience to hone tolerance. 

Why Are Interpersonal Skills Important?

Love makes the world go round, and interpersonal skills keep the workplace world spinning properly. Not only that: Interpersonal skills can make a tech professional a standout and help forge a promising career .

During his 27 years in tech, Patrick Hayes has developed, refined and used interpersonal skills as a way to influence outcomes and gain buy-in from others. “I have often been called a ‘people person,’ or someone who can get along well with others,” said Hayes, chief strategy officer at Chicago-based UncommonX , a SaaS-based cybersecurity firm.

Tech professionals, in his opinion, tend to be introverted and rely on facts, data and technical experience to reach decisions. “Developing your interpersonal skills, while it may seem touchy-feely, can be an important aspect of your career growth into leadership and roles with a greater scope of responsibility,” Hayes said. 

Interpersonal skills help soothe a variety of office issues, including disagreements, which can and will happen even in the happiest of workplaces. “Whatever the disagreement is, it’s important to separate the behavior from the individual,” said Hayes. ”As yourself, ‘why does the other person see things this way?’ You might not reach a mutually shared outcome, but this approach will provide the ability to focus on the issue and not the person,” he said.

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How to Develop Your Interpersonal Skills

To be sure, some people are naturally charismatic and possess a full set of interpersonal skills. Others need to develop and refine interpersonal skills. Miriam Frankel, director of Thrive Group , a Passaic, New Jersey-based counseling center, offers nine tips for doing just that.

Think Positively

Every day, remind yourself of the good things about your life and your job. If you’re upset about a personal matter, set those feelings aside until after work. If you’re stressed about a work issue, look for the positive in the situation and try to build on that.

Control Your Emotions

Work isn’t the place to be overly emotional. Whether you’re extremely irritated, severely depressed or ecstatically happy, take a deep breath and tone your emotions down. Always express yourself in a calm, patient manner.

Acknowledge Others’ Expertise

One of the best ways to build trust at work is to let your co-workers know you appreciate their expertise. Ask for their help on projects and give credit where credit is due.

Show Genuine Interest in Your Colleagues

Make a point of getting to know what’s important to your co-workers. It will help solidify your relationships with them.

Find One Good Trait in Every Co-worker

Not all of us like every single person we work with but you can’t let personal preference get in the way of peak performance. If a colleague’s personality clashes completely with your own, the best way to handle the situation is by finding at least one good trait in that person — preferably something professional.

Practice Active Listening

Maintain eye contact with the speaker, nod your head, and repeat what they have said in your own words. The speaker will feel respected and you’re likely to be able to recall the conversation more easily afterwards.

Be Assertive

Be confident in your ability and opinions, and don’t be afraid to express your needs, as well as your limits.

Practice Empathy

Gain a well-rounded view of things by putting yourself in other people’s shoes. This will help you develop empathy for others, which in turn goes a long way in finding solutions that work for all involved.

Maintain Your Relationships

Connect with college friends and former colleagues on social media or through email; try to set up face-to-face meetings now and then. This shows your connections that you still value the relationship — and that can go a long way in helping you advance your career.

Interpersonal Skills and Impostor Syndrome

Some people might require more time to develop interpersonal skills; others, less. One group of professionals, surprisingly enough, might have highly developed personal skills, yet lack the confidence to recognize them.

That group? People with impostor syndrome — the belief that others think you’re smarter than you think you are.

Impostor syndrome is largely regarded as a professional negative. Yet new research by Basima A. Tewfik , assistant professor of work and organization studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, indicates that those who have “impostor thoughts” might be viewed by others as having better interpersonal skills.

In a paper forthcoming in the Academy of Management Journal , Tewfik “develops a model linking workplace impostor thoughts to other-perceived interpersonal effectiveness,” she writes in the abstract. She posits that people with more impostor thoughts are rated higher in interpersonal effectiveness “because such thoughts make them more other-oriented.”

Perceived interpersonal effectiveness “refers to how well others perceive that one cooperates and interacts with one’s environment,” Tewfik writes in the abstract. People with higher interpersonal effectiveness levels are those who create effective working relationships and relate well to others. 

Because accomplishing things at work increasingly involves interacting with others, having employees low in interpersonal effectiveness can cost workplaces millions of dollars in ill outcomes and mismanaged projects, she writes, citing colleagues’ research on the subject. 

Tewfik tested her theory in four studies with four groups: employees at an investment advisory firm, doctors-in-training and what she calls “two cross-industry sets of employees recruited online.” Members of each group were evaluated for workplace impostor thoughts and interpersonal effectiveness by various means. 

In one employee study, for instance, half of the employees were randomly assigned to recall a time at work in which they had impostor thoughts while the other half were randomly assigned to recall what they had for lunch that day. Employees were all then told to imagine that right after the experience they recalled, they got the chance to have an informal coffee chat with a hiring manager that could result in a promotion. Employees were offered the option of either asking or answering questions during this conversation. 

Tewfik found that those in the “impostor thoughts” group choose to ask more questions. As a result of this increased “other-focus,” hiring managers gave them higher interpersonal effectiveness scores.

In summary? Impostor syndrome might feel like a career liability, but can be a real asset when it comes to getting along in the workplace. And so can a toolbox of well-honed interpersonal skills.

Take a moment each day to perfect these essential skills. Your career will thank you for it.

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• v.50(3); 2013 Sep

Language: English | Turkish

The Effectiveness of an Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving Strategy on Behavior and Emotional Problems in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Kişilerarası sorun Çözme eğitiminin dikkat eksikliği ve hiperaktivite bozukluğu olan Çocukların davranışsal ve emosyonel sorunları Üzerindeki etkisi, celale tangül Özcan.

1 Gulhane Military Medical Academy, School of Nursing, Ankara, Turkey

Fahriye Oflaz

Tümer türkbay.

2 GGulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Ankara, Turkey

Sharon M. FREEMAN CLEVENGER

3 Gülhane Indiana/Purdue University Center for Brief Therapy, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA

Introduction

This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the “I Can Problem Solve” (ICPS) program on behavioral and emotional problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The subjects were 33 children with ADHD aged between 6 to 11 years. The study used a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design with one group. The researchers taught 33 children with ADHD how to apply ICPS over a period of 14 weeks. The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18 (Teacher Report Form) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) Based Disruptive Behavior Disorders Screening and Rating Scale (parents’ and teacher’s forms) were used to evaluate the efficacy of the program. The scales were applied to parents and teachers of the children before and after the ICPS program.

The findings indicated that the measured pre-training scores for behavioral and emotional problems (attention difficulties, problems, anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, oppositional defiant problems, rule breaking behaviors, and aggressive behaviors) were significantly decreased in all children post-training. In addition, children’s total competence scores increased (working, behaving, learning and happy) after the ICPS program.

According to the results, it is likely that, ICPS would be a useful program to decrease certain behavioral and emotional problems associated with ADHD and to increase the competence level in children with ADHD. An additional benefit of the program might be to empower children to deal with problems associated with ADHD such as attention difficulties, hyperactivity-impulsivity, and oppositional defiant problems.

ÖZET

Giriş.

Bu araştırma dikkat eksikliği hiperaktivite bozukluğu (DEHB) tanısı konulan çocuklara uygulanan bir kişilerarası sorun çözme eğitim programı olan “Ben Sorun Çözebilirim (BSÇ)” eğitiminin etkilerini incelemek amacıyla yapılmıştır.

Yöntemler

Araştırma örneklemini DEHB tanısı konulan 6–11 yaş arası 33 çocuk oluşturmuş, tek gruplu ön-son test deseninde, yarı deneysel olarak planlanmıştır. DEHB tanısı olan bu çocuklara 14 hafta boyunca bilişsel yaklaşıma dayalı BSÇ eğitimi uygulanmıştır. Programın etkinliğini değerlendirmek için “Dikkat Eksikliği ve Yıkıcı Davranış Bozuklukları için DSM-IV’e Dayalı Tarama ve Değerlendirme Ölçeği” (anne-baba ve öğretmen formu) ve “6–18 Yaş Grubu Çocuk ve Gençler için Davranış Değerlendirme Ölçeği (öğretmen formu-TRF/6–18)” kullanılmıştır. BSÇ eğitimi öncesi ve sonrasında anne-baba ve öğretmenlerden bu ölçekleri doldurmaları istenmiştir.

BSÇ eğitimi sonrasında karşı gelme, dikkatsizlik, hiperaktivite/dürtüsellik, anksiyete/depresyon, sosyal içe dönüklük, suça yönelik davranışlar ve saldırgan davranışların azaldığı saptanmıştır. TRF/6–18′nin yeterlilik alanına ilişkin “sıkı çalışma, uyum, öğrenme ve mutlu olma” alt testlerin toplamından oluşan “toplam yeterlilik” alt testinde BSÇ eğitim sonrasında yeterlilik düzeyinin önemli oranda arttığı görülmüştür.

Sonuç

Bu çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre, BSÇ eğitim programı DEHB olan çocukların duygusal ve davranışsal sorunların azaltılmasında ve çocukların yeterlilik düzeylerinin artırılmasında faydalı olabilir. Bu programın bir diğer yararı ise bu çocukların DEHB ile ilişkili sorunlar (dikkat eksikliği, hiperaktivite/dürtüsellik ve karşı gelme sorunları) ile baş etmelerini güçlendirebilir.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is one of the most prevalent childhood psychiatric disorders, is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of activity, distractibility, and impulsivity ( 1 , 2 ).

Behavioral problems in children with ADHD include acting without adequate forethought as to the consequences of their actions and inability to postpone gratification with impulsive decisions and behaviors. ADHD negatively influences social interactions with peers, interpersonal relationships with parents, teachers and peers as well as academic success and social functions ( 2 , 3 ). Children with ADHD face problems such as increased incidence of defiant and aggressive behaviors, and are at higher risk of comorbid disorders (such as oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder) compared to typically developing children ( 4 , 5 ). Behavioral problems commonly seen in children with ADHD affect the overall quality of children’s lives ( 2 , 6 , 7 ), and reduce the quality of life of their family members. Specifically, the family experiences overall increased levels of stress, decreased feelings of belonging and competence and disruption of routines and structure ( 2 ). Additional problems include: conflicts and exclusion among peers, inability to manage or prevent anger efficiently, communication/social skill difficulties, inadequate problem solving, and difficulties in relationships ( 2 , 5 , 8 ).

Multifocal treatment programs for children with ADHD may improve outcomes in a more robust manner than medication alone or behavior/cognitive management programs alone. Social skills training programs encourage problem-solving ability and support cognitive and behavioral skills ( 2 , 9 , 10 ). Some cognitive-behavioral approaches consisting of psychosocial treatments result in improved impulse control, increased assessment capability before reaction and enhance considered and tempered actions ( 11 ).

The “I Can Problem Solve” (ICPS) program is based on Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving methods. The basic objectives of this program are developed mainly to deal with the social problems of children ( 12 ). The ICPS is a problem solving approach to prevention of high risk behaviors in children and provide children with assessment abilities to help them solve their problems ( 12 , 13 , 14 ). By strengthening the capacity of children with ADHD to solve problems that lead to socially undesirable behaviors such as physical and verbal aggression, impulsivity, inability to wait, inability to take turns, inability to delay gratification, over emotionality in the face of frustration, inability to maintain friendships, high risk behaviors may be reduced ( 12 ). It should be noted that, children with ADHD need extra support and structured training although other children easily can learn problem-solving skills through these programs and adapt them to real life as well ( 15 ). However, there is limited data relating the ICPS training program for children suffering from ADHD ( 10 , 12 ).

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the ICPS program on children with ADHD. It was hypothesized that ICPS program would be useful to decrease behavioral and emotional problems (oppositional defiant problems, attention problems, hyperactivity problems, anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, rule breaking behavior, and aggressive behavior), and would increase the total competence scores (working, behaving, learning and happy) in children with ADHD.

Study Design and Sampling

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the improvements between pre- and post-ICPS training in measured behavioral and emotional problems in children with ADHD and their competence in term of the effectiveness of the ICPS program. This study was designed as a pre-post-test quasi-experimental design with a single group. The study group consisted of children diagnosed with ADHD in two elementary schools in Ankara/Turkey, between ages of 6 and 11, diagnosed with ADHD according to DSM-IV-TR criteria ( 1 ). The mean age of the participants was 9.1±1.1 years. All of the children were Caucasian. The socio-demographic characteristics of the children such as gender, grade, mother’s and father’s education years, father’s/mother’s profession as well as medication use for ADHD are outlined in Table 1 .

The Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants (n=33)

Inclusion criteria were: the diagnosis of ADHD according to DSM-IV-TR criteria, 6 to 12 years of age, and child/parents volunteered for the research. Exclusion criteria were: the history of head trauma or neurological illness, developmental delay or any other axis I psychiatric disorder except for oppositional defiant disorder, making a change in her/his medications during the study if the child has been taking any medication for ADHD, and failure to attend the training.

Instruments

Data collection and assessment tools used in the research were as follows:

The DSM-IV-TR Based Disruptive Behavior Disorders Screening and Rating Scale

This is a screening and assessment instrument, which was developed based on DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria, consists of 9 items inquiring attention problems; 6 items inquiring hyperactivity; 3 items inquiring impulsivity; 8 items inquiring oppositional defiant disorder and 15 items inquiring conduct disorder. The adaptation of this scale to Turkish society, and the validation and reliability analyses were completed in the year 2001. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.88 for the sub-scale attention problems and 0.92 for the sub-scale disruptive behavior disorder in the reliability analysis ( 16 ).

The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18 (Teacher Report Form-TRF/6–18)

This form was developed to evaluate 6–18 age group students’ adaptation to school and their faulty behavior through information obtained from teachers in a standardized way. TRF includes 118 items related to behavioral and emotional problems. 93 of these items correspond to the items on the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18. The scale provides information regarding adaptation as well as basic functions such as school- and student-related information. In the second part of the scale, behavior problems are inquired under the categories “internalizing” and “externalizing”. Within the “internalizing” category, there are withdrawn/depressed, somatic complaints and anxious/depressed subtests, while within the “externalizing” category, there are disobedience to rules and aggressive behaviors sub-tests. There are also sub-tests such as social problems, thought problems, attention problems and other problems that do not belong to either of the two categories ( 17 ). TRF was first developed by Achenbach in 1991, and verification and validation studies in our country were conducted by Erol at al. ( 18 ). The Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the TRF was 0.82 for Internalizing; 0.81 for Externalizing and Cronbach alpha=0.87 for total problem.

The 49 children from two elementary schools were interviewed and examined by a psychiatric practitioner trained in child psychiatry. To exclude other psychiatric disorders, the Children Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Learning Disorders Checklist were applied. 37 of the 49 children met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. The study was introduced to 37 children and their parents in an introductory meeting. Permission and written informed consent were obtained from them (n=37). Parent reports were obtained with the DSM-IV-TR based Disruptive Behavior Disorders screening and assessment scale; teacher reports were obtained with both the DSM-IV-TR Based Disruptive Behavior Disorders Screening and Assessment Scale, and “Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18 (Teacher Report Form)(TRF/6–18).

Due to various reasons, such as being diagnosed with another psychiatric disorder besides ADHD and the failure to attend the training etc., four students were excluded from the study. Finally, the remaining 33 children were taken for evaluation.

The lessons of ICPS were taught to the children in small groups. The children fell into the groups based upon their school and whether they attended morning or afternoon classes resulting in 7–9 children per group. The training program was 14 weeks in length and included 83 structured lessons. Each lesson was completed in approximately 30 minutes twice per week which could be prolonged considering children’s motivation.

The ICPS training program is based on “Interpersonal Cognitive Problem-Solving Strategy”. The ICPS program was developed by Myrna B. Shure (1992) ( 19 ) for purposes of social skills training in children and adolescents. The adaptation of this training to Turkish has been made by Öğülmüş ( 14 ). The training was provided by a primary researcher who had previously been trained exclusively by Öğülmüş. The ICPS program teaches children how to think and how to evaluate their own thoughts. Behaviors are modified by focusing on the thinking processes. The ICPS program encourages children to think about finding as many alternative solutions as possible when they deal with a problem. It teaches children to learn how to think of solutions to a problem and of potential consequences to an act. The ICPS encourages children to do their own thinking instead of offering solutions and consequences ( 12 , 13 , 14 ). ICPS with enhanced critical thinking, creativity, and reasoning skills are concerned more with how a person thinks rather than what a person thinks. ICPS attempt to enhance interpersonal cognitive skills, and thus, lead to successful alterations in overt social behavior ( 12 , 13 , 14 ). The guideline book of ICPS program included 83 structured lessons using pictures, toys, puppets, games, stories, drama, role-plays, and dialogues based on real life conversations. There is a defined goal of each structured lesson in the ICPS program book ( 19 ). The examples of goals of the ICPS lessons are as follows:

To Think About their own Feelings

To learn to identify people’s feelings and to become sensitive to them (other’s feelings) or (to gain the ability to put themselves in other’s shoes)

To increase their awareness that other’s point of view might differ from their own

To recognize that there is more than one way to solve a problem

To learn being assertive without physical and verbal aggression

To learn that different people can feel different ways about the same issue

To think of both alternative solutions and means-ends plans (weighing pros and cons)

To be aware of what might happen next and to learn how to think of solutions to a problem and consequences to an act

To decide for themselves whether their idea was or was not good in the light of their own and others’ feelings and of the possible consequences.

To learn that sensitivity to the preferences of others is also important in deciding what to do in situations which situation?

To increase understanding that thinking about what is happening may, in the long run, be more beneficial than immediate action to stop the behavior

To control impulse, including to delay gratification and to cope with frustrations

Examples of ICPS Dialoguing (Problem-solving process) ( 12 ).

“What happened, what’s the problem, what’s the matter?”

“How do you think she/he feels when.. ?” (e.g., “When you hit him/her?”)

“What happened (might happen) next when you did (do) that?”

“How did that make you feel?”

“Can you think of a different way to solve the problem (tell him/her/me how you feel)?”

“Do you think that is or is not a good idea? Why (why not)?”

Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the local ethics committee of Gülhane Military Medical Academy and School of Medicine, and Ankara Provincial Education Directorate. For ethical considerations, the purposes and methods of the study were explained to the children and their parents. After receiving their consent, the study was started.

Statistical Analysis

SPSS Ver. 13.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., IL, USA) was used for the statistical analysis. All descriptive statistics were presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD), median and number/percentage universal tests, then normal distribution fit tests (Shapiro-Wilk test) were employed for the data used. Pre- and post-test measurement data were evaluated as dependent variables scores were compared by using the Paired-Samples T-Test or the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test (when variances are unequal). The significance level was assumed p<0.05.

The differences between pre-and post-training scores were statistically significant for all subscales of the DSM-IV-TR Based Disruptive Behavior Disorders Screening and Rating Scale ( Table 2 ).

Comparison of the Subscales Scores of the DSM-IV-TR Based Disruptive Behavior Disorders Screening and Rating Scale before and after the ICPS Training

t: Paired-Samples T Test, z: Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test (when variances were unequal),

According to the TRF/6–18 test scores for both pre-and post-training, the all internalizing problem behaviors including “anxious/depressed”, “withdrawn/depressed” and “somatic complaints”, and the all externalizing problem behaviors including “rule-breaking behavior” and “aggressive behaviors” were found to be significantly reduced after the ICPS training ( Table 3 ). The sum of the scores for four adaptive characteristics (“working”, “behaving”, “learning” and “happy”) displays an “adaptive functioning profile” on the TRF/6–18. The difference between competence levels of these sub-tests were found to be statistically significant based on the comparison of these levels for pre- and post-ICPS training (p=0.03). The higher total competence scores indicate the better competence ( Table 3 ).

Comparison of Problematic Behaviors Scores Identified by TRF/6–18 for Pre- and Post-ICPS Training

t: Paired-Samples T Test, z: Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test (when variances were unequal),

The effectiveness of ICPS training for children with ADHD resulted in significant improvement in ADHD symptoms as well as in such problem areas like internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. These results suggest that ICPS training might reduce problematic behaviors and improve problem-solving skills and behavior among children with ADHD.

Pharmacotherapy tends to be a first-line therapy targeting biological implications for children with ADHD. Approved pharmacological agents for the treatment of ADHD include psychostimulants and atomoxetine. Psychostimulant medication has positive effects on children with ADHD in their ability to focus and pay attention in school settings, thereby, resulting in improvement in the overall learning environment. The therapeutic effects of pharmacological agents may be temporary, as symptom reduction occurs only when medication is active in the system. The lack of long-term efficacy has been issue of concern ( 2 , 20 ). Although the effectiveness of psychostimulants for reducing ADHD symptoms have demonstrated efficacy ( 21 , 22 ), there are potential unwanted side effects of pharmacological agents ( 23 , 24 ). Because of worrying about potential and known/unknown negative effects of pharmacotherapy, some children with ADHD may be reluctant to use any medication for ADHD, and may possibly discontinue medication treatments without their prescribers’ knowledge. Furthermore, follow-up studies have demonstrated that ADHD frequently persists into adolescence and adulthood ( 2 , 25 , 26 ). In addition, adults and those in whom ADHD was diagnosed in childhood often continue to suffer ongoing significant behavior problems ( 2 , 9 , 27 ). Accordingly, if these people with ADHD use a medication as the first and only treatment for ADHD, they will have to use the medication throughout life. As a result, non-pharmacological treatment seeking, and the use of complementary are on the rise ( 26 ). In addition, children with ADHD have not only core ADHD symptoms, but have also comorbid disorders that increase complexity of treatment such as anxiety, disobedience to rules, aggressive behaviors, oppositional defiant behaviors and other social problems ( 2 , 4 ). These comorbid conditions and associated features not only add to ADHD’s clinical complexity, but also have significant implications for treatment ( 28 ). Therefore, alternative options, including psychosocial treatment approaches, may have utility for amelioration of ADHD symptoms, and have significance in reversing the risks and long-term outcomes associated with ADHD, especially if combined with medication ( 3 , 9 , 28 , 29 ). However, some studies indicated that treatment with a combination of medicine and psychosocial treatment has little or no better result compared to medicine only treatment ( 20 , 30 , 31 ). The Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) compared four treatment options in a 4-group parallel design. Combination treatment and medication management were both significantly superior to behavioral treatment and community care in reducing the symptoms. In certain conditions (such as oppositional-defiant/aggressive symptoms, internalizing symptoms, teacher rated social skills, parent-child relations, and reading achievement), combined treatment was superior to behavioral treatment and/or community care ( 21 ).

On the contrary, other studies have demonstrated incremental results for adding behavior therapy to psychostimulant medication in terms of reductions of ADHD symptoms ( 32 , 33 ). Similarly, psychosocial interventions such as ICPS have been found to be effective for children with ADHD ( 34 ). In support of this, some studies have reported that, psychosocial therapies provided along with medication had positive effects on comorbid internalizing and externalizing behaviors ( 35 , 36 ). Diller and Goldstein ( 37 ) have emphasized: “more than one hundred studies demonstrate that parent and teacher training programs improve child compliance, reduce disruptive behaviors, and improve parent/teacher-child interactions and a number of short-term studies have scientifically demonstrated the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for ADHD”.

Problem-solving strategies that is one of psychosocial treatments engages both the cognitive and social skills that arise from daily life experiences. Problem-solving skills are considered an important aspect that effects how one reacts and deals with these problems ( 38 ). ICPS program might be useful for both children with and without medication and may contribute to reductions in problematic behaviors. These strategies may also reduce the severity of comorbid disruptive disorders and emotional problems. ICPS training improve problematic behaviors by engaging children in thinking about their actions, the impact of their behavior on themselves and others, the possible consequences of their actions, and other options they have. However, previous studies evaluating the effectiveness of ICPS program in normal children ( 12 , 39 ) concluded that that non-ADHD children with naturally developed problem-solving thinking skills and behavior strategies benefit from ICPS as well as children with ADHD ( 12 , 38 ). There are limited studies related to children with ADHD in the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of ICPS program which we used in our research ( 12 ). In one of the initial studies with single subject design, Shure (1999) has cited that, Aberson (1996) taught ICPS to parents of 3 children with ADHD (12. ??, problem-solving skills and behavior may be improved through the use of ICPS strategies. It is important to recognize that children with ADHD trained in ICPS might learn how to find alternative ways to express their anger, handle anger, and to recognize consequences of their behavior. However, the above mentioned improvement in social and emotional adjustment lasted 4 years after training ended ( 40 ). In another study ( 10 ), also with single subject design, ICPS was conducted to teach 8 children with ADHD who already had been maintaining treatment with psychostimulant drug. While the researcher was teaching ICPS to 8 children with ADHD at an observation class, their mothers observed the ICPS lessons. The mothers applied the learned strategies to their children and used the ICPS dialogs during problem-solving process at home in real-life situations. It was suggested that ICPS program may make an additional contribution into the children treated with a psychostimulant medication to deal with their problems. In parallel with the emphasized idea of the studies ( 12 , 40 ), our data have shown that both ADHD related symptoms and non-ADHD related symptoms were observed to decrease through the use of ICPS strategies.

It was proposed that children with ADHD would need help in learning those skills and the training should be provided in a controlled setting, although normal children might easily learn problem solving skills ( 15 ). Aberson et al. ( 40 ) emphasized that, such initiatives, if applied under special circumstances, could have significant effects on problematic behaviors in children with ADHD. These special conditions were meant for parents to teach their children the skills, and to implement ICPS childrearing techniques altogether; the child learns to internalize the newly acquired skills, and to adapt them to real life. Children with ADHD may need help to generalize and internalize these skills because they could have difficulty to adaptation these skills for a changing environment and generalizing to conditions in real life. In addition, because, rehearsals through games could complement these techniques, during our study, drama and envisaging techniques were used in order to enhance and generalize the acquired skills.

The limitations of this study include: small sample size and the absence of a control group. Other significant limitations of the study could be regarded as not making a comparison with other treatment modalities and, the grading scales used were based on declaration rather than being objective. The present study was planned in a pre-posttest quasi-experimental design with one group. Further research comparing ICPS with other treatment modalities and different factors are needed.

Conclusions

ICPS training based on Interpersonal Problem Solving skills may reduce the level of problems in behaviors of children with ADHD and increase the quality of interpersonal communications. Although American Pediatrics Academy ( 41 ) stated that, psychosocial interventions were found to be effective in treating mild and moderate symptoms of such cases as in the ADHD treatment guidebook published, there is not sufficient evidence for this treatment to be applied alone. Hence, integrated and multimodal treatment approaches may be more convenient hypotheses. ICPS training is relatively easy to learn and to utilize in school settings, and may be conveniently used by most disciplines working with children. Consequently, it is thought that, the ICPS is beneficial training for children with ADHD in order to modify problematic behaviors that interfere with quality of learning, socialization and overall quality of life.

Process of the study

Conflict of interest: The authors reported no conflict of interest related to this article.

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20 Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving

Practice Techniques

Clinical Prompt

Language & Concepts/Word Games

• before/after
• same/different

Formal Problem Solving Dialogue

ICPS Dialogue Ladder

Means-ends Thinking

• means-ends story
• creative thinking

Consequential Thinking

• What if…
• chain reaction consequences
• I don’t care

Evaluating Solutions

• goal setting
• Problem Solving Tree

Forms & Charts

Problem Solving Tree CBT#20-001

Download Available | Worksheet

Introduction

Although very different from other popular methods of child management, the Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving [ICPS] approach, now called I Can Problem Solve, [also ICPS], developed by Myrna Shure continues the movement toward positive childrearing. As Shure states “In 1965 Haim Ginott sparked interest in positive parenting by suggesting in his book, Between Parent and Child, that instead of telling a child what not to do [“Don’t run!”], parent should emphasize the positive by telling them what to do [“Walk!”]. Then, in 1970, Thomas Gordon wrote the acclaimed book Parent Effectiveness Training [PET], which opened the door to the idea that active listening and using “I” messages [“I feel angry when your room is messy”] instead of “you” messages [“You are too messy”] are learned parenting skills.” These two landmark books paved the way for Shure’s book Raising a Thinking Child to take parents a step further. “ICPS moves from a primary focus on skills of the parent to focus on skills of the child as well. The thinking child does not have to be told how people feel or what to do; the thinking child can appreciate how people feel, decide what to do, and evaluate whether the idea is, or is not, a good one.”

Symptom Effectiveness

Although educators and clinicians have historically asserted that relief of emotional tension can help one think straight, ICPS supports the reverse idea – the ability to think straight can help relieve emotional tension. ICPS will help children:

• think about what to do when they face a problem with another person;
• think about different ways to solve the same problem;
• think about the consequences of what they do; and
• realize that other people have feelings and think about their own feelings too.

For twenty-five years, ICPS has demonstrated successful outcomes through careful evaluation of thousands of ICPS trained youngsters from ages four to twelve with varied IQ levels from urban and suburban schools nationwide. This approach has been documented in three books for professional audiences, in educational training manuals, and in numerous articles in professional journals and has received several national awards. To cite just a few: In 1982 ICPS was chosen by the National Mental Health Association to receive the prestigious Lela Rowland Prevention Award, and in 1987 ICPS was selected as a model mental health prevention program by the Task Force on Promotion, Prevention and Intervention Alternatives, sponsored by the American Psychological Association. In 1992 the National Mental Health Association selected ICPS as one of its recommended programs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently recognized the intervention as an evidence-based exemplary violence prevention program. The most recent acknowledgments include kudos from Strengthening America’s Families Project and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency prevention as a model violence prevention program.

The teaching of these social competencies has been demonstrated to prevent behaviors – social withdrawal and conduct problems – that are associated with later problems in living such as depression, substance abuse, delinquency and suicide and also with other serious problem behaviors such as early and unsafe sexual activity, school dropout and violence.

Time for Mastery

Younger children up to about age eight, can benefit from ICPS by learning interpersonal problem solving skills that can reduce and prevent high risk behaviors in only three months time with three one half hour sessions per week or about thirteen and one half hours. Older children can also benefit, though it may take two three month programs or about twenty six hours of exposure to ICPS. Older children may already know the language and concepts, but find it difficult to overcome preconcieved reflex or automatic thoughts about problem areas.

Instructions

To the extent that interpersonal cognitive processes precede action, and that good problem solvers are better adjusted and more socially competent than poor ones, we can begin to envision social competence as a problem solving skill, not just in adults, but, as far as we can measure it in children as young as four [04] years of age.

An individual who can plan his or her actions, weigh the pros and cons, and consider the effects of interpersonal acts upon others is less likely to fail and make impulsive mistakes, and thereby suffers less frustration. If problem after problem should remain unresolved, and interpersonal needs remain consistently unsatisfied, maladaptive behavior and other social difficulties often ensue.

One process of thought, that of means-ends thinking, includes the ability to plan, step by step, ways to reach an interpersonal goal. As part of this process, one considers potential obstacles that could interfere with reaching that goal, and also recognizes that problem resolution does not always occur immediately.

Another process involves the spontaneous tendency to weigh pros and cons of transgression, a form of consequential thinking.

Means-ends thinking skills significantly distinguish typical children from the diagnostically disturbed or behaviorally troubled – beginning at about nine [09] years of age, while a spontaneous tendency to weigh pros and cons of an act emerges as a significant behavior during the adolescent years.

Language & Concepts

ICPS has a particular concern not only with being assured that the child is clear in understanding concepts, but in the way you and other adults talk to the child. Talking in ways that help children think about their problems is what ICPS is all about.

Shure tells us that four [04] year olds can not plan sequential means to reach a goal, but they can conceive of alternative ways to solve problems by naming different types of categories of solutions. Spontaneous weighing of pros and cons to an act is beyond their developmental level, but if specifically asked, they can describe what might happen next or what another person might do or say if an act were carried out.

Given these conceptual gifts, the first responsibility is to teach a consistent language that can be used to promote problem solving and to test the concepts engendered by this language. For young children, this is done by playing with words. Play is the work of children, and through play, children absorb and test themselves against the world. By incorporating word games with significant words and concepts into a play arena, the adult can capture both the learning and valuing aspect of such development. After the child is familiar with the words and concepts, the helper can provide a formal dialogue at the time when problems occur to help the child think through the problem and make the appropriate decisions.

Word pairs such as is/is not, and/or, some/all, before/after, now/later, same/different are important for framing the problem solving environment. Although the child may already be familiar with all or most of these words, they are used in a special way in the formal dialogue. These words are used in play because when children learn to associate particular words with play, they are more likely to use them when it’s time to settle disputes.

Young children will laugh when you first say, ‘Mommy is a lady, but she is not a kitten.’ Or, ‘Our feet look the same, but your feet are a different size.’ Or, ‘Do you think I should eat this banana before or after I peel it?’

These word pairs help children think if an idea is or is not a good one, and to think about what happened before a fight began, and whether ‘he hit you before or after you hit him’. Children enjoy thinking about different ways to solve their problem when they associate the word different with fun. And the are more willing to wait until later when they recognize the word later from their play games.

This does not mean that adolescents can not benefit from the use of such words, although it is likely that you will need to find an artful way to present them. They are not words that are unused in an adolescent vocabulary, but developing a formal dialogue in which you address in vivo problem experiences and help the adolescent ‘walk though’ the process after the fact, is in itself, a teaching process. For older children, the process is one of bringing the process into conscious consideration and overcoming ‘automatic thinking’.

Poor problem solvers are likely to display behavior characteristics of impulsivity or inhibition, to show little concern for or even awareness of others in distress and are less liked by their peers.

The use of the formal dialogue changes the usual context for such an child or adolescents. Common themes of antisocial thinking include the belief and mind-set that they are being victimized. Many children and adolescents are accustomed to feeling unfairly treated and have learned a defiant, hostile attitude as part of their basic orientation toward life and other people. From the cognitive perspective, both their perception of being victimized and their hostile response to it are learned cognitive behaviors. These are learned ways of thinking that are reinforced by experiences of success and self gratification. For instance, the sense of victim outrage is itself a feeling of strength and righteousness, much preferable (in their mind) to feelings of weakness and vulnerability.

Unfortunately, such beliefs are all to often supported by the ‘power assertion’ approach to child management, which is focused on punishment, rather than resolution of the problem.

The use of the formal dialogue of ICPS specifically redirects the disruptive person to focus on the facts of the situation, including his/her own thoughts in regard to the means-ends and consequences of their actions. The language and concepts need to be consistent, although the process of dialogue will follow a natural course.

The ICPS Dialogue Ladder

Shure suggests that there is a dialogue ladder with rungs indicating the approach to the child/adolescent in relationship to problems. At the bottom of that ladder is a command and control process which demands, belittles and punishes. This is easily identified by such power assertions statements such as ‘Go to your room!”, “That’s stupid!’, for ‘Get out of the way!’; which may be followed by yanking the child and/or slapping.

One of the Mentor’s responsibilities is to collect data on in vivo events, and you should identify when and how often and by whom, the child is confronted with such power assertions and other lower rung approaches, and report this information to the Clinical Supervisor. In this way, the Clinical Supervisor may be able to teach the adult responsible a better method of child management.

Rung 2 is identified by Shure as Suggestion Without Explanation – such as ‘Please move over to one side of the TV.’ While this is less confrontational, the locus of control is still with the adult and for children with whom control is an issue, this may still lead to confrontation and ultimately Command and Control responses.

Rung 3 is only slightly better in that it provides Suggestion with Explanation, Including Feelings. “If you stand in front of the TV, we can not see.’ or ‘I feel angry when you block our view.’ While this may be helpful to many children, it is unlikely to appease the need for control of the disruptive child.

Rung 4 is the Formal ICPS Dialogue which focuses the whole decision process on the child and provides a clear process of consideration of word concepts, feelings, solutions and consequences and allows the child/adolescent to make the choice. This process does not preclude the implementation of strong consequences for continued poor choices, but it helps to make explicit to the child and adolescent what those choices are and that they are responsible for their choices [giving the child a sense of power].

The responsibility of the Mentor is to always stay on the Formal ICPS Dialogue rung of the ladder regardless of what other authoritative people may be doing. The process is one of training the child/adolescent how to think, not what to think.

Give the child/adolescent a means-ends story depicting hypothetical problems between an adult and a child/adolescent, or between two children/adolescents. Then ask the child/adolescent to make up a story connecting the beginning and the end. Score the number of means provided to reach the stated goal; and the number of obstacles conceptualized which might impede reaching the goal. Many children with problems in living will have a higher degree of capacity to identify the problems than the solutions.

Increasing the number of alternative means or solutions requires two components:

• to focus the child on the solution rather than the problem, and
• to help the child think creatively about solutions.

To be creative requires, that the habitual be made conscious. We must focus our attention. Wonder & Donovan [1984] propose that we construct a mental, slow motion movie of a situation looking for aspects that we have previously overlooked.

We tend to formulate our point of view to protect our preconceived attitudes. It makes us distort, rationalize or forget things. In order to be creative, we must abandon or at least constrain our attitudes. One way to do this is to deliberately look at the issue from different perspectives.

Certain basics can be extrapolated.

• We can look at the process – which deals with change in time and space [growth, transformation, development, evolution, sequence, stage and cycle]. By concentrating on the details of order we ask about phases and steps, expansion/diminishment, etc.
• We can look at differences [contrasts, distinctions] or similarities [connections, affiliations]. These help us to define allegories – “This is like that” – or metaphors – “this is that”.
• We can view the problem on a different order or level. What does society look like from a molecular level or an astrophysical level. Social problems of individuals look differently from higher or lower orders.

All of these changes of perspectives are important, but perspective is not limited to these constructs. We can change our perspective by becoming someone or something else. One effective method is to prohibit your present thinking. If they passed a law prohibiting what you think should be done; what would you do?

As a quick review the table below captures the three basic principles of creative thinking techniques:

Attention: to what?

• elements in the current reality
• features, attributes, and categories
• assumptions, patterns and perspectives
• metaphors and analogies
• what works and what doesn’t
• anything you don’t normally pay attention to

Escape from what?

• current mental patterns
• time and place
• early judgment
• barriers and rules
• past experience

Movement in what sense?

• in time or place
• to another point of view
• free association
• building on ideas

With these factors in mind, many of the creative thinking gurus can offer specific techniques for consideration. However, if we look closely at the Formal ICPS Dialogue, we see the principles of creative thinking captured within the process. We gain attention through shaping the criteria to is/is not, before/after, etc. Moving to the mental processes that make up problem solving, we escape through probing for sameness & differences from our past experiences and hierarchy of ideas, while moving into a differing point of view through the exploratory concepts of and/or. Thus, the Formal ICPS Dialogue is a process of stimulating creative thinking.

You may not need more than the Formal ICPS Dialogue, but if you believe that you or the child need additional creative thinking support.. For older children lateral thinking or thinking hats may have some appeal.

The people in society who repeatedly respond to their problems with others in insensitive, cruel or destructive ways haven’t grown up in the habit of thinking about the consequences of their solutions before they act. It is difficult for some children to think about what they could do and what might happen if they carry out an action.

The goal of consequential thinking is to help the child think about what might happen next if a particular solution is carried out. Therefore, consequences make sense only when children know that events follow one another in a certain order.

Sequential thinking can be reviewed by looking back at the word games for before and after. You can practice this concept with the child while you are doing any two step process. ‘I put the toothpaste on my brush before I brush my teeth.’

Story building is another sequential game. Make up a story about anything at all and then let the child finish it. Or stop and allow the child to add an event. ‘Mother mixed all the ingredients for a cake and then she…..’ After the child interjects a step, you can continue the story to the next stop. Or you can gather a group of children and have them take turns interjecting or finishing.

You can also review the idea of sequence with a game called ‘What might happen IF…’ This can be shaped for older adolescents by the way you develop the circumstances. You give the child the circumstances and let them fill in the consequences. You can try the following for starters:

‘What might happen IF…..

• you stayed up all night
• you didn’t do your homework
• you smiled and said hello to everyone
• you weren’t afraid of anything
• you stole a car

The advantage of this game is that it provides not only the opportunity to practice the concept of consequences, but offers some inferences about the child’s values and belief systems.

As with alternative thinking, the word might is emphasized because no one can predict what will happen next – consequences when other people are involved are never a certainty.

For younger child you can consider consequences by following this procedure:

• state the problem or have the child state the problem
• elicit alternative solutions in the usual way
• stop at a solution that is conducive to asking for consequences [usually ‘hit’, ‘grab’ or ‘tell someone’ are good to start with]
• write the solution on the left side of the paper
• announce that you are going to make up a different kind of story about what might happen next. Ask for lots of different responses,
• list each response on the right side of the paper, drawing a line from the solution to each response.

If the child offers a chain reaction consequence, point it out to the child and then get back on the right track. If the consequence is unclear or seemingly irrelevant, probe the child to find out what s/he had in mind. It is especially important to question the child as to who is doing the action. An answer of ‘nothing’ or ‘I don’t know’ may be a genuine response that shows that the child is stuck and can’t think of anything, but may also mean that they don’t care or don’t want to think about it.

It is important to figure out if it is an ‘I’m stuck’ or ‘I don’t care’ response. If a child’s answer is ‘nothing’, you can respond by saying Maybe nothing will happen, but let’s just make up something that might happen. Encourage the child to ‘pretend’ a consequence. If a child’s answer is ‘I don’t know’, you can agree with them that no one can be sure what will happen, but then encourage them to pretend and make up something that might happen.

If a child gets stuck on variations of the same theme, you can point out that those things are ‘kind of alike because they all __________________[tell someone].

When you give children the freedom to think of ways to solve their own problems they will occasionally come up with solutions you may not like. Research shows that when they learn to think the ICPS way they are, in time, less likely to act on the kinds of solutions that really don’t solve problems.

If the child offers solutions that seem inappropriate or undesirable, you can help them reevaluate their ideas by asking such questions as:

‘How would (the other person) feel if you did that?

‘What else might happen if you do that?’

‘What is something different you can do so that won’t happen’

In continuing to seek alternatives, there is the implication that the solution is not the ideal one, without the criticism. Children, even very young children or children with severe problems in living, know good solutions when they consider them. The problem is to get them to consider them. For older, confrontational children, the problem is one of power. They need to have the power to decide – sometimes even to do what they know is not an adequate solution to reach their goals, but to do it without your authority.

What is needed is a different experience; a new and fortifying relationship. One which will engage the individual’s positive will and affirm his/her right to be different from others. Having had this difference accepted by others, the individual can now accept him/herself. Self acceptance becomes possible through the love experience [Rank] of being accepted by another person. The valid love relationship requires acceptance of the self-willing in another, bestowing worthiness in preparation for choosing meaning. Thus worthiness is not in ourselves and our behavior, but in the acceptance of that behavior by someone significant to us.

This does not imply, that there are not necessary consequences to such self-willed behavior. But those consequences are not personal, they are formal. And the more the consequences are oriented towards training the child to make better choices rather than punishing the child for transgression; the more they transfer discipline to the child as self-discipline. In order to gain the trust and assistance of the child, you will need to understand that better is defined by the child. The art of the approach is to help the child reach his/her goals regarding problem solutions, not reach goals that you or other authorities sanction. This may require work on the development of other goals than simply avoiding what adult authorities believe is in his/her best interest [See Technique #27 – Motivation &Goal Setting].

Depending on the age of the child, you can use the Problem Solving Tree [CBT#20-001] to have the child work out the problem solving situation on paper and determine how well such solutions meet his/her goals. And in the process, determine the need for training the child in goal setting.

Have the child list in the left hand column an event that seems to have been a problem in the past. Discuss with the child the type of event and ask the child to state what they would identify as the best possible outcome of the event. Have the child write this as a goal statement.

In the next column, have the child list as many solutions as s/he can think of [leave space between the solutions]. After all the solutions have been listed, ask the child to list what might happen if s/he were to implement the solution. Probe until the child has listed all of the possible consequences s/he can think of for each possible solution. Have the child draw arrows from the appropriate solution to the consequences that are connected.

After the consequences are listed, have the child prioritize the consequence with #1 being the consequence that is closest to the goal statement.

The child can develop a different problem solving tree for each problem situation identified.

As the process of the formal dialogue become habitual, the child will be able to use these skills without formal prodding or with minor ‘cues’. The skill is one that, once mastered, tends to improve over time. While we could hope that all four year olds are taught the skill, it is never too late.

BROWSE Topics

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The interpersonal problem-solving process: Assessment and intervention

• January 2016

• Universidad Francisco de Vitoria

• University of Granada

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Critical Thinking and Structured Problem Solving

Effective critical thinking and problem-solving skills are indispensable for professionals who strive to help their organizations make well-informed business decisions rooted in robust evidence. While the complexity of problems may vary, a structured approach can be applied to nearly all situations, bolstering the prospects of long-term organizational success. In this intensive course, participants will learn about various analytical thinking techniques that can mitigate the influence of cognitive biases in decision-making.

Course Methodology

This course structure emphasizes a hands-on, practical approach to learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with activities designed to be directly applicable in a professional context.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Apply critical thinking models to understand problems accurately and develop reasoned arguments
• Evaluate and synthesize information to devise innovative solutions to complex problems
• Implement developed solutions into organizational processes and measure their impact

Target Audience

This course is suitable for analysts, professionals, managers, and leaders at all levels within the organization.

Target Competencies

• Critical thinking
• Problem solving   
• Solution implementation
• Results based decision-making
• Understanding how we think and reason
• Confirmation bias
• Critical thinking principles
• Models and frameworks for critical analysis
• Defining the right issue
• Structuring complex problems
• Using logic trees in problem solving
• Data gathering and synthesis
• Evaluating solutions
• Feasibility analysis
• Translating outcomes into actionable plans
• Monitoring and measuring implementation outcomes

2024 Schedule & Fees

Per participant.

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(including coffee breaks and a buffet lunch daily)

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Meirc reserves the right to alter dates, content, venue, trainer, and to offer courses in an integrated virtual learning (IVL) format whereby face to face classroom participants and virtual learners participate simultaneously in the same course in an interactive learning experience.

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The 7 Key Steps of Effective Interpersonal Problem-Solving

Any interpersonal relationship involving two or more distinct people is susceptible to having misunderstandings, in which one does not agree, and the other has divergent opinions and views. These misunderstandings can lead to conflicts that, if properly solved, can generate significant progress in the relationship, strengthening it.

Before we go to each step, let’s talk about how interpersonal problems can come up. Conflict is a natural exchange of energies, however often seen as unfavorable because most people can’t manage stress, can’t be honest with themselves and others, and go with the mindset of being right.

Highly Recommended Article:

What are the Major causes of Interpersonal Conflicts?

That being so, and knowing that we cannot avoid conflicts, it is essential to understand them to resolve them in the best way. Then there will be clues as to how best to resolve disputes.

How to Resolve Interpersonal Conflicts?

Denial does nothing to improve the situation, quite the contrary because it allows the issue to increase over time. There is no point in delaying their afflictions, as they will continue where they are and as a snowball until they reach an insoluble plateau. Admitting you have a problem allows you to think about a solution.

We must not regard misunderstanding as persecution or an attempt to strike at us. By being positive, we assumed that the other person had good intentions and that a supposed lack of communication between us created a problem.

Moreover, by seeking to act positively in solving the problem, it is clear that we are not seeking intrigue, only the most sensible solution.

Positive thinking gives us a vision of hope that things can improve and that nothing is eternal, not problems and difficulties. In addition to the personal benefits that this positive-thinking brings, you end up influencing the people around you with such thoughts.

By not admitting that we care about a particular question, we can go into denial and accumulate the problem, so we stop looking for a suitable solution.

It is all right that we feel shaken, sad, and a little bewildered to some degree with situations that seem to evade its possibilities of resolution. What can’t happen is that we let those feelings get in the way of the day-to-day interactions with the people around us.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT MOMENT TO SOLVE A CONFLICT:

Yelling was never an excellent option to solve anything; take your pride out of the spotlight. We need to stay focused on what’s best for everyone and not our ego. Know precisely where we’re going with that discussion. Have clear, convincing arguments and look for the best way to use them.

HOW TO MAKE GOOD-POINTS DURING PROBLEM-SOLVING:

TIPS ON HOW TO BECOME MORE COMMUNICATIVE:

Knowing how to listen to means being attentive to what is being said, understanding how the person behaves when positioning their arguments, and understanding their reasons. If we are always trying to answer to justify our actions, there is no possible understanding.

To listen, we need to consider first dialogue or a conversation that involves two or more people.

TIPS TO KNOW HOW TO LISTEN:

References and Further Reading

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• DOI: 10.1177/1362361314522354
• Corpus ID: 21041954

Group training in interpersonal problem-solving skills for workplace adaptation of adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome: A preliminary study

• Saray Bonete , M. D. Calero , Antonio Fernández-Parra
• Published in Autism 1 May 2015
• Psychology, Education

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45 Citations

Generalization task for developing social problem-solving skills among young people with autism spectrum disorder.

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A pilot randomised controlled trial of a group based social skills intervention for adults with autism spectrum disorder

Prep4work: a social skills intervention to prepare adults with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities to access the workplace, group-based educational interventions in adolescents and young adults with asd without id: a systematic review focusing on the transition to adulthood, examining the process and impact of social problem solving in autistic children., teaching individuals with autism problem-solving skills for resolving social conflicts, work-related social skills interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder throughout the life course, running head: review of work-related social skills 1 a systematic literature review of interventions to improve work-related social skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, [efectividad de un programa manualizado de intervención en habilidades de resolución de problemas para niños con trastorno del espectro autista (tea)]., effects of behavioral skills training with in situ training on workplace conversational skills of transition-aged high school students with autism spectrum disorder, 53 references, evidence-based social skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: the ucla peers program, comorbid adhd and anxiety affect social skills group intervention treatment efficacy in children with autism spectrum disorders.

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Group Social Skills Instruction for Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

Social skills training for young adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: a randomized controlled pilot study, real-life-type problem-solving in asperger's syndrome, children's social competence and skill: current research practices and future directions, social problem solving as a mediator of the link between stress and psychological well-being in middle-adulthood, group cognitive behaviour therapy for adults with asperger syndrome and anxiety or mood disorder: a case series., predicting treatment success in social skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: the ucla program for the education and enrichment of relational skills, errorless learning and social problem solving ability in schizophrenia: an examination of the compensatory effects of training, related papers.

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Innovations in Teamwork for Health Care

Don’t leave teaming up to chance. Create better teamwork through science.

In this course, experts from Harvard Business School and the T.H. Chan School of Public Health teach learners to implement a strategy for organizational teamwork in health care.

What You'll Learn

Health care is a team effort. From the front desk administrators to the nurses, doctors, insurers, and even the patients and their families, there are many people involved in an individual’s care. To deliver quality care in today’s fast-paced environment, practitioners and caregivers must go beyond medical problem-solving and rely on effective collaboration and communication skills.

While other businesses may organize around a functional area or project, allowing team members to learn each other's working styles and strengths over time, health care workers often find themselves in ad hoc scenarios, coordinating with near-strangers on life and death situations. As a leader, how do you encourage trust and meet shared goals when teams are formed quickly? How do you strengthen flexibility and collaboration even as team membership and structures fluctuate across departments? 

In Innovations in Teamwork for Health Care, leaders in the field of organizational behavior and teamwork, Amy Edmondson, Professor at Harvard Business School, and Michaela Kerrissey, Assistant Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, share their latest research and present their concept of "teaming" as it relates to the health care and life science industries.

In this course, you will explore the complexities of collaboration in dynamic cross-functional teams and its impact on quality of care. You will examine the theory of teaming – where individuals join together to lend their expertise – to appreciate what enables effective teamwork and why teamwork fails; articulate the importance of psychological safety and a joint problem-solving orientation; understand the particular needs of time-limited teams; and rethink the role of hierarchy and leadership in the context of teaming.

You’ll hear firsthand from experts with experience inside and outside the health care industry, from CEO and President of the Cleveland Clinic, Tomislav Mihaljevic, to Andres Sougarret, the engineer who led the miraculous rescue of 33 Chilean miners in 2011. 

Ultimately, this course provides you with the tools needed to implement effective teaming strategies for patient-centered care and provides your organization with a framework to empower robust communication, improve efficiency, and elevate patient safety.

The course will be delivered via  HBS Online’s course platform  and immerse learners in real-world examples from experts at industry-leading organizations. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explore the science of teamwork, focusing on the psychological and sociological aspects of teaming, collaboration, and defining effective outcomes.
• Understand the complexity of building trust in ad hoc teams, including how to define purpose, build trust, and navigate interpersonal risks to reach common goals.
• Apply communication strategies that encourage psychological safety and create a safe space for all to contribute.
• Understand the value in adopting a model of joint problem-solving for patient care.
• Identify the distinct needs of time-limited project teams and how to incorporate effective and transparent feedback loops.
• Ensure accountability and identify leaders, breaking down hierarchy and encouraging the right person to step up at the right time.
• Implement a PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, and Act) framework for your organization.

Continuing Education Credits

In support of improving patient care, Harvard Medical School is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education.

The Harvard Medical School designates this enduring material for a maximum of 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Harvard Medical School is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

This activity is approved for 20.00 contact hours. Contact hours are awarded commensurate with participation and completion of the online evaluation and attendance attestation. We suggest claiming your hours within 30 days of the activity date, after this time, the attendance attestation will still be required to claim your hours. 

Groups of 10 or more receive Amy Edmondson's latest book!

A free, hard copy of right kind of wrong: the science of failing well for each participant. .

Your Instructors

Amy C. Edmondson  is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society. She has pioneered the concept of psychological safety for over 20 years and was recognized in 2021 as #1 on the Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers. 

She is the author of Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy (2012), The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth (2018), and Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well (2023).

Michaela Kerrissey  is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She conducts research on how teams and organizations innovate, integrate, and perform, with a focus on health care.   Dr. Kerrissey has authored over 30 publications on these topics and has won numerous best-paper awards, such as from the Academy of Management. She designed the Management Science for a New Era course at Harvard’s School of Public Health. In 2023, she was listed on Thinkers50 Radar, a global listing of top management thinkers.

Real World Case Studies

Affiliations are listed for identification purposes only.

Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD

Learn from the President and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic about how to implement joint problem solving in complex care organizations.

Maya Rupert

Hear from a top political strategist and campaign manager about how she leads within a teaming structure.

Trishan Panch, MD, MPH

Learn from Harvard faculty and founder of Wellframe about the importance of team learning.

Available Discounts and Benefits for Groups and Individuals

Experience Harvard Online by utilizing our wide variety of discount programs for individuals and groups. 

Past participant discounts.

Learners who have enrolled in at least one qualifying Harvard Online program hosted on the HBS Online platform are eligible to receive a 30% discount on this course, regardless of completion or certificate status in the first purchased program. Past Participant Discounts are automatically applied to the Program Fee upon time of payment.  Learn more here .

Learners who have earned a verified certificate for a HarvardX course hosted on the  edX platform  are eligible to receive a 30% discount on this course using a discount code. Discounts are not available after you've submitted payment, so if you think you are eligible for a discount on a registration, please check your email for a code or contact us .

Nonprofit, Government, Military, and Education Discounts

For this course we offer a 30% discount for learners who work in the nonprofit, government, military, or education fields. 

Eligibility is determined by a prospective learner’s email address, ending in .org, .gov, .mil, or .edu. Interested learners can apply below for the discount and, if eligible, will receive a promo code to enter when completing payment information to enroll in a Harvard Online program. Click here to apply for these discounts.

Gather your team to experience Innovations in Teamwork for Health Care and other Harvard Online courses to enjoy the benefits of learning together: 

• Single invoicing for groups of 10 or more
• Tiered discounts and pricing available with up to 50% off
• Growth reports on your team's progress
• Flexible course and partnership plans 

Learn more and enroll your team ! 

Course Syllabus

Learning requirements: There are no prerequisites required to enroll in this course. In order to earn a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Online and Harvard Business School Online, participants must thoughtfully complete all 5 modules, including satisfactory completion of the associated assignments, by stated deadlines.

Download Full Syllabus

• Study the Mining Accident Rescue and Cleveland Clinic cases.
• Understand the concept of teaming and how it can be applied to the health care industry.
• Brainstorm how to organize with a team to rescue 33 trapped miners.
• Analyze the problems solved and new challenges created by organizational structures that were implemented to facilitate teamwork at the Cleveland Clinic.
• Outline and analyze an individualized teaming breakdown for your organization. 
• Study the NASA and Google cases on psychological safety.
• Collaborate with team members and leadership to create a space of psychological safety. 
• Identify the indicators of psychological safety in a group. Analyze data from Project Aristotle’s study of teams at Google.
• Consider how past experiences can affect current feelings of psychological safety.
• Study the Cleveland Clinic ,  Boehringer Ingelheim , and  Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center cases.
• Implement a joint problem-solving orientation in which team members view problems as shared and solutions as requiring collaboration.
• Match different types of diversity in the workplace with the interpersonal boundaries that they imply.
• Articulate what you bring to a team and what you might need from others.
• Walk down the ladder of inference to get to the root of a problem.
• Study the  Virginia Mason Medical Center and  Institute for Healthcare Improvement cases.
• Cultivate an organization where team learning is valued and mobilized for improved performance.  
• Identify different kinds of work on the process knowledge spectrum.
• Brainstorm how a nursing team could learn from an accidental morphine overdose.
• Study the cases of Julio Castro's Presidential Campaign and Wellframe . 
• Practice leadership skills that include coaching, enabling, and ensuring that the right voices are present or represented within the team structure. 
• Build a leadership workshop for your team using the concepts addressed in this course.
• Practice asking meaningful questions as a way to encourage input and express authentic humility.
• Learn the difference between confirmatory and exploratory responses.

Earn Your Certificate

Enroll today in this course.

Still Have Questions?

What are the learning requirements? How do I list my certificate on my resume? Learn the answers to these and more in our FAQs.

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10 Important Interpersonal Skills (With Examples)

• Most Common Skills
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Find a Job You Really Want In

What are interpersonal skills in the workplace, and why are they important? Interpersonal skills relate to how you interact and communicate with people. They’re also known as soft skills, emotional intelligence, or people skills.

This article will cover interpersonal skills examples, the best interpersonal skills for a resume, and how to improve your interpersonal skills. Whether you’re a job seeker trying to highlight your soft skills or you’re trying to improve your relationships, interpersonal skills are essential in the modern workplace.

Key Takeaways:

Examples of interpersonal skills include communication, empathy, and active listening.

Use the experience section on your resume to show quantifiable achievements you owe to your interpersonal skills.

Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to respond to interview questions about your interpersonal skills.

What are interpersonal skills?

Interpersonal skills examples, interpersonal skills on a resume, interpersonal skills on a cover letter, interpersonal skills during an interview, how to improve your interpersonal skills, interpersonal skills faq.

• Sign Up For More Advice and Jobs

Interpersonal skills are skills that relate to your ability to interact and collaborate with other people. Examples of interpersonal skills range from simply having a good attitude to managing conflict well.

Interpersonal skills are also known as soft skills, in opposition to hard skills, which relate to your on-the-job technical expertise and are learned through instruction.

Soft skills, on the other hand, relate to the intangible qualities and personality traits that make you a great employee. Managers and recruiters value interpersonal skills highly because they’re harder to teach.

Interpersonal skills’ definition is simple enough, but to see interpersonal skills’ meaning more clearly, here are examples of the most important ones:

Communication . This is one of the most valuable interpersonal skills in the workplace. Communicating clearly and effectively with your coworkers and clients is vital to the organization’s (and your) success.

This goes beyond crafting engaging presentations and well-written memos. Good communication skills include knowing when to send an email and when to meet face-to-face, sharing your concerns while remaining respectful, and understanding when to speak up and when to save it for later.

The nuances of your communication style should adjust to fit the culture of your workplace, but having a general understanding of how to interact with others well will help projects run smoothly, keep you in good graces, and show that you can take on more responsibility in the future.

Public speaking

Noverbal communication

Constructive criticism

Writing emails

Leadership. Having good leadership skills means more than being bossy. It means taking the initiative, leading by example, looking out for your team and the organization, and being willing to have tough conversations.

Even if you aren’t technically in a leadership position, hiring managers want to know that if they put you in charge of a project or team, you’ll be able to lead it well. They also want to know that you aren’t just a yes-man or lazy worker, but that you will lead by example through hard work and ethical behavior.

People/project management

Instruction

Active listening . You’ve probably been told, “You have two ears for listening and one mouth for speaking,” at some point in your life. Well, this is a skill that remains important from Kindergarten through adulthood.

Being a good listener involves more than just not talking. Employers want to know that you’ll not only hear them, but that you’ll do what they ask you to do. They also want to know that you’ll listen to customers and colleagues as they bring up concerns and ideas.

Taking direction

Responding to constructive criticism

Giving feedback

Teamwork . Even if you’re the only person in your department, you’re still a part of a larger organization, and you need to be able to show that you’re willing to support it.

Being a team player doesn’t mean you have to roll over and neglect your personal needs, but you do need to give your team your best effort and be willing to make some personal sacrifices for the good of the group.

Collaboration

Team-building

Selflessness

Conflict management . No matter where you work, chances are you’ll encounter conflict, whether directly involving you or not. Knowing how to manage it well is a skill many companies look for when they’re hiring.

Your ability to be assertive, come up with creative solutions and compromises, and look out for the interests of all parties involved in the conflict is invaluable.

While this is one of the most difficult interpersonal skills to master, it’s also one of the most teachable, as several classes and resources are available to help you learn how to do this well.

Problem-solving

Conflict resolution

Empathy . Whether you’re working with customer complaints or just coordinating with your coworkers, being able to put yourself in another person’s shoes is vital.

Before you get defensive about your boss’s complicated new formatting requirements or a customer complaint, take a moment to look at the situation through their eyes.

Maybe the extra five minutes it takes to format your report differently will save your boss hours of work, or maybe the customer is on a tight budget and really needed your product to come through for them, and it didn’t.

This skill will help you be enjoyable to work with and make it easier for you to work with difficult people.

Sensitivity

Helpfulness

Desire to grow. Most good managers want to help you succeed at your job, and great managers want to help you grow into new roles and responsibilities. They can’t do that if you get defensive every time they try to help you improve, though.

Being coachable is vital to being a good employee and coworker, as well as opening doors for future roles and promotions. Show that you want to learn by seeking out relevant training opportunities, asking for feedback on your work, and thanking those who give you constructive criticism .

Self-motivated

Negotiation . Like conflict management, negotiation requires assertiveness and creative problem-solving. Whether you need to negotiate with clients or just help resolve conflicts within the office, having this skill can help you stand out as an employee or manager .

Negotiating well can also help you individually when it comes to your job, especially if you create a lot of sales or contracts.

Thankfully, this skill is relatively easy to find practical training for.

Positive attitude. No one likes a complainer, especially if you have to work with them consistently. You can easily be the bright spot in someone’s day by accepting assignments and facing obstacles with a smile on your face.

You can and should still be realistic, because over-the-top optimism can be just as annoying as constant complaining, but responding graciously, no matter how you feel, will set a pleasant tone for the whole office. It helps you feel better about the situation as well.

Friendliness

Dependability . It may sound obvious, but your employer should feel like they can trust you to do your job. This includes showing up on time and giving consistently good results. It means that when you say you’ll spot-check that report, you’ll do it, and you’ll do it thoroughly and promptly.

You want to be someone your boss and coworkers can rely on to make their jobs easier.

Consistency

Punctuality

When it comes time to showcase these skills during the job application process, start by incorporating them throughout your resume . You can list them under the “skills” section or find ways to weave them into your “experience” sections. Check the job description and include the listed skills, as this can often get you through the initial screening.

Interpersonal skills in your resume’s skills section . You might naturally think the skills section is the best place to include your interpersonal skills. While you’re correct to think this makes a good home for them, we don’t recommend simply listing “Interpersonal Skills.”

Interpersonal skills in your resume’s work experience section . Now is when the “show, don’t tell” mantra comes into play. Instead of simply listing your tasks with phrases like “Organized X event” or “Communicated Y data,” look for professional accomplishments you owe to your interpersonal skills.

Interpersonal skills in your resume’s summary statement . You can also lead your resume with a vibrant picture of yourself as possessing top-notch interpersonal skills. Something like “Compassionate caretaker with 5+ years experience helping patients understand, cope with, and manage the stress of illness” helps sell both your experience and your value as an interpersonal wizard.

No matter where you choose to incorporate your interpersonal skills into your resume, be sure to tailor your qualifications to the job. Read the job description carefully and note which interpersonal skills are mentioned multiple times or otherwise emphasized.

Then, look for ways to honestly and naturally use that same language in your resume.

When you write your cover letter , feature your top one or two skills that make you an ideal candidate for the position you’re applying for. Don’t just say you have them; show how you’ve used them in the past and how they’d help you with this position.

A cover letter is a great place to add personality to your resume’s technical qualifications. In short, it’s a great opportunity to show that you’re friendly, personable, and able to communicate clearly via the written word.

As always, try to bring in great results that you owe to your interpersonal skills. For example, if you’re applying for a customer service role, you might write about a time when your positive attitude and solutions-oriented mindset brought about a great resolution that helped create a happy return customer.

Before your interview, go through this list and think of one or two anecdotes for each skill that demonstrates your abilities. If you do have a weak spot, explain what you’re doing to grow in that area.

This is also a great answer to the ever-popular interview question , “What’s your greatest weakness?” Hiring managers know that no one is perfect, and you have a better chance of being hired if you show that you’re self-aware and actively working to grow.

Many questions that relate to your interpersonal skills are behavioral interview questions that ask you to describe an example of your past behavior. They often start with phrases like “tell me about a time” or “give me an example of a time when.”

The best method for answering these common interview questions is to use the STAR method . STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result, and it’s a great way to organize short stories that pack a punch. Let’s take a look at a couple of common interview questions designed to test your interpersonal skills to the test, as well as example answers using the STAR method:

At my last job at XYZ Inc., I had a coworker who would often turn in work late and fail to communicate their progress with teammates. We all did our best to work around the problem, but eventually, it became too much. I stepped up and had a frank conversation with our coworker about how our projects were being delayed because of him and asked if we could work out a better communication system. We agreed to morning meetings every other day to establish how far along he was and get him resources if he was stuck. Overall, the increased accountability led to fewer delays, and the delays that did happen were much more manageable, since we were more in-tune with his progress.

The seasonal rush is a big thing in retail and, sadly, many customers become irate with all the stress of the holidays. Last year, a few days before Christmas, a customer came in with a jacket she had purchased but turned out to be the wrong size. She wanted it fixed before Christmas day, but we were out of stock of her desired size, and our website was also showing out of stock. She became really upset, but I looked into creative solutions. I found that one of our outlets had the same jacket from the previous season in the size she wanted it. Not only did she get the product she wanted, but at half the cost!

You’ll use these interpersonal skills for the rest of your life, so it’s worth putting in the effort to develop them. Get in the habit of looking for ways to hone your strengths and improve your weaknesses, as this will help you be sure you’re always growing and make you an even more valuable asset to your employer. Here are some ways to do this:

Ask for honest feedback. Find a trusted coworker or manager and ask them which areas you are naturally gifted in and where you might need to improve.

Find a class or workshop. There is no shortage of articles, classes and lectures on the internet. Find some reputable ones and put together your own training regimen.

Look into local in-person classes and workshops that you can attend on your lunch break, or sign up for a conference that covers these topics.

Ask your employer what professional development opportunities they provide as well. Companies are often more than happy to help their employees grow, and they may even pay for your training.

Ask for help. If you have someone you look up to who has strong interpersonal skills, consider asking them to mentor you. This can be over the span of several years or just a day of watching them in action and asking questions.

If you have some specific areas you want to grow in, find one or two people you admire who demonstrate these skills and ask them for advice. Usually, people are more than willing to offer a helping hand.

Practice empathy. We could all stand to focus a little less on ourselves and a little more on those around us. To practice empathy, start putting yourself in the shoes of those you work and live alongside.

Boost your confidence. Feeling good about yourself helps you treat others well. Start keeping a brag book of all the compliments you’ve received at work, and note down any major accomplishments you’re proud of.

Ask more questions. Not just during on-the-clock, professional conversations (but certainly do ask questions that relate to your job performance), but also during less formal conversations. When you express interest in other people’s ideas, you become more likable.

What is the most important interpersonal skill?

Communication is one of the most important interpersonal skills. Although there are many important interpersonal skills for the workplace, communication is one of the most crucial. Since interpersonal interactions result in many acts of communication, from communication do a lot of other interpersonal skills follow.

Why are interpersonal skills important?

Interpersonal skills are important because the workplace requires effective interactions among employees, clients, and competitors. Most professionals, regardless of their occupation, will inevitably interact with others. Therefore, with good interpersonal skills, you can improve your chances to positive interactions and results.

Which jobs need interpersonal skills?

Highly social jobs such as teaching, nursing, customer service, and marketing need employees with great interpersonal skills. Although many other professions need some level of interpersonal skills, unsurprisingly, jobs that require constant interaction with others require a high level of interpersonal skills. If you plan to work in a profession where your must work with others, make sure you have great interpersonal skills.

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Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.

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• Behavioral Interviews

Answering Problem-Solving Interview Questions: Tips and Examples

Problem-solving skills are difficult to describe and quantify: they’re a combination of different hard and soft skills such as logical inference, technical knowledge, adaptability and innovation, leadership potential, decision-making, productivity, and collaboration.

All are crucial for developing expertise and delivering results at work — especially when the going gets tough.

And because problem-solving is so important, you’re almost guaranteed to get asked about it in a job interview. Read on, and make sure no problem-solving question catches you off guard.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• How to answer problem-solving job interview questions
• Types of problem-solving questions
• Why recruiters ask these questions and what your answers might reveal
• Sample answers for the main types of problem-solving questions

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How to Answer Problem-Solving Job Interview Questions

Here’s how to understand the intention behind problem-solving interview questions and create an informative answer that will highlight your expertise and potential.

Understand the problem-solving question and why recruiters ask it

Hiring managers and recruiters want to know how you identify roadblocks, analyze information, and overcome challenges. These challenges can vary from specific, technical issues to more general issues like improving company processes or handling interpersonal relationships.

To put these skills to the test, recruiters use “problem-solving” job interview questions, also known as analytical questions. Here are some common ones:

• Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem.
• Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
• Describe a time when you didn’t know how to solve a problem. What did you do?
• Describe how you approach a complex or difficult problem.

Here’s what these questions help recruiters discover:

Your adaptability and innovation

Are you an out-of-the-box thinker who’s open to new ideas and who can handle uncharted waters easily?

Efficiency and productivity

Are your problem-solving skills contributing to the team’s performance, removing bottlenecks, smoothing out processes, and keeping projects on track?

Collaboration and communication

Are you successfully collaborating with others to find solutions? Are you handling people-related problems effectively?

Decision-making

Can you efficiently evaluate different options and reach a decision independently? Can you make sound decisions to minimize risks and maximize benefits and opportunities?

Leadership potential

Are your problem-solving skills so good that they open up new opportunities for you to move in the leadership direction ?

Problem-solving interview questions are not tied to a specific role and industry. Mastering your problem-solving skills will help you stand out from the competition and be more successful in your role, whatever it may be.

And if you need help with answering other common interview questions, sign up for our free course !

Reflect on your thought process

Be mindful of your thought processes when you face a difficult problem.

Is your initial reaction to panic or are you calm and enthusiastic to tackle it? Is the problem stopping you from focusing on everything else you’re working on? Do you look at the problem as a whole or do you break it down?

Understanding how you think and approach the problem will help you know yourself and improve your problem-solving skills, but it’ll also make it easier to answer these tricky questions during an interview.

Be specific

Tailor your answers to problem-solving interview questions so that you cover specific details, actions, and skills relevant to the position. If possible, list the results and share lessons learned from an experience you’re describing.

We’re not saying you should lie and make up a story about your problem-solving skills for each position you apply for; remember that this is a broad set of skills and you surely have something relevant from your past experience that you can bring up.

💡 For example, if you’re a Customer Service Representative applying for the same role in another company, you can speak about how you solved a customer’s problem or how you helped the team switch to a new CRM tool and transfer all the data.

💡 If you’re applying for a leadership role in the customer service field, you can speak about how you handled an interpersonal problem within a team or how you spotted bottlenecks and modified processes to make the team more efficient.

💡 If you’re moving to a Sales position, you can highlight your selling experience and talk about a time when you had to solve a customer’s problem and you managed to upsell them in the process.

Follow up with clear outcomes

Prove you have outstanding problem-solving skills by listing clear outcomes for every problem you solved. They can be quantitative or qualitative.

💡 Fixed a process? Say that it improved team productivity by X%.

💡 Handled a difficult client? If they became a VIP customer later on, mention it.

💡 Resolved a conflict? Describe how the experience helped you strengthen the bonds in a team.

💡 Solved a complex technical problem? Say that you got a bonus for it, or that you expanded and improved the existing documentation to help coworkers in the future.

Use the STAR method

Whenever possible, use the STAR (situation-task-action-result) method in your answer:

• (S) ituation: Describe the situation and provide context.
• (T) ask: What tasks you planned on doing to tackle the issue, your contribution.
• (A) ction you took (step-by-step).
• (R) esult of your efforts.

It’ll help you create a well-rounded answer that’s informative and engaging. Plus, using this method to prepare answers in advance will help you memorize the story quickly and easily.

✅ Bear in mind that not every problem-solving interview question can be answered with a STAR method. Some questions will be very specific and will ask for quick and short information about a certain tool or similar. Other questions, the ones beginning with “Give me an example when…” or “Tell me about a time when…” will be the perfect opportunity to use the STAR method.

Also, remember that there’s never a single correct answer to a problem-solving question, just like there usually are multiple solutions to a given problem — a study on the hospitality industry revealed that the most successful problem-solving strategies applied in the workplace were always very specific to given circumstances.

Questions about your problem-solving skills are just one group of the standard interview questions, you can be almost sure you will get asked. Prepare for other interview “classics” with our dedicated guides:

• Tell Me About Yourself: Sample Answers
• Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?
• Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?
• What Are Your Strenghts?
• What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
• How Do You Handle Conflict?
• Why Should We Hire You?
• Why Do You Want to Work Here?

If prepping for a video interview, learn what to expect from this guide: Video Interviewing Tips & Tricks

And if you’re interested in interviewing for specific positions, see:

• Sales Interview Questions and Answers
• Customer Service Interview Questions and Answers
• Customer Service Manager Interview Questions and Answers
• Behavioral Interview Questions for Customer Service

Types of Problem-Solving Job Interview Questions

1. general problem-solving questions.

These questions aim to discover your general approach to problems and challenges.

How do you approach complex problems?

Interviewers want to know how you approach the process of solving complex problems. Do you jump straight into it or do you take a step back, break the problem down into manageable components, analyze the info you have, and then dive in?

Can you provide an example of a challenging issue you’ve encountered and how you resolved it?

Can you assess a situation and find the most appropriate solution? Can you handle the pressure? Do you take the lead during difficult times? Are you able to take responsibility for the outcomes?

This question is more specific than the previous one, so make sure you think about a situation in advance and prepare your answer using the STAR method.

Big Interview’s Answer Builder can help you shape your answer. You’ll be able to list and filter the points you’d like to mention, add details and rearrange the order to create a compelling story.

Plus, you’ll get bite-sized tips on how to answer the most common interview questions while you’re in the Builder.

How do you prioritize multiple tasks when faced with tight deadlines?

Recruiters want to know how you set criteria based on which you’ll set priorities, how and if you juggle between multiple tasks, and how you communicate and collaborate with other people involved.

General problem-solving sample answer

“Tell me about a time when you faced a difficult problem at work. How did you solve it?”

Behavioral questions about problem-solving

Behavioral questions ask for specific situations from your past in which you displayed a certain behavior. Based on it, recruiters hope to predict how you’ll perform in the future.

Tell me about a time when your team faced a problem and you helped to find a solution

This one’s asked to assess your teamwork and cooperation skills in tough situations.

Interestingly, a 2015 study on problem-solving in the workplace showed that when it comes to expertise-related problems, employees rarely relied on trial-and-error or information retrieval as modes of problem-solving.

Instead, they mostly relied on help from others, that is, their coworkers who they believed were experts on the subject matter.

This puts emphasis on the importance of teamwork and collaboration in problem-solving. And you certainly noticed how easier it gets to solve a problem (or brainstorm a new idea) as a group, when different individuals bring fresh, unique ideas to the table.

So, recruiters want to know if you’d be cooperative and open to a teamwork experience, and these factors might hint at how you’ll fit in with the team.

Describe a situation in which you received criticism for your solution to a problem. How did you handle that?

This one checks how you handle feedback and criticism — it’s challenging, but it’s essential for growth.

In your answer, make sure you depict a situation in which you demonstrated that growth mindset and the ability to see that taking criticism is not a sign of weakness (or a personal attack on you) but a unique opportunity to learn something new.

Can you provide an example of when you had to collaborate with a team to solve a work-related problem?

Similarly to the first question in this group, this one aims to see how you perform in a team and solve problems collectively.

According to a study , in a team, task completion can be independent , when each team member completes their own activities, sequential , when activities go from one team member to another, reciprocal , when activities are done back-and-forth between team members, or intensive , when all team members work on activities and problem-solving simultaneously.

Recruiters want to get to know more about your ideal teamwork process model and how you connect with others to solve problems.

Your answer will tell them if you’re a good team problem-solver, team player, and if you’re able to give and share credit, as well as take responsibility if something goes wrong.

Behavioral problem-solving sample answer

“Can you describe a situation where you had to use your problem-solving skills to make a decision?”

Situational problem-solving questions

Situational problem-solving questions put you in a hypothetical situation, present a problem, and ask for your opinion/solution.

Even if you haven’t encountered a similar situation in the past, it will help you to draw parallels from your experience to create answers to these questions.

How would you respond if a high-priority project was suddenly delayed, jeopardizing the deadline?

Your answer to this question will tell recruiters about your flexibility, time and task organization, prioritization, as well as how you handle pressure.

An ideal employee will be able to think quickly and adapt to unforeseen circumstances, all the while remaining calm and composed. You’ll want to aim at displaying these qualities in your answer.

Imagine a scenario where your manager was unavailable, but a client had an urgent issue – what would you do?

Taking the lead and taking calculated risks shows that a person has outstanding problem-solving skills and is not afraid to take initiative, which shows leadership potential.

Your answer to this question needs to demonstrate your ability to quickly analyze information, weigh pros and cons of a situation, and make decisions on the spot. This is especially important if you’re applying for leadership positions, like a team leader or a project manager.

If you encountered a high-stress situation that required you to stay calm and focused, how would you handle it?

Recruiters and hiring managers want to assess your ability to handle stress, make rational decisions, and maintain a focused approach in tricky, high-pressure situations.

Make sure to provide them with relevant examples from your past that will paint a picture of your skills and abilities. This is especially relevant for high-pressure positions such as police officers, lawyers, financial analysts, and similar.

Situational problem-solving sample answer

“Imagine you’re faced with a tight deadline, but you’ve encountered a significant roadblock. How would you handle this situation?”

Technical questions about problem-solving

Technical problem-solving questions are based on the technical knowledge that underlies each role. They aim to check your expertise or the means by which you connect the dots or obtain information if you don’t possess it.

Will you sort through the documentation to find a solution? Or is your first reaction to recall a past experience? Perhaps you prefer connecting with an expert or a coworker with more experience than you. Or you’re the type of person to synthesize your existing knowledge and try to find a solution through trial and error. Maybe you’ll turn to a book or a course? Whatever it is, recruiters would like to know.

There are many ways to solve these problems and your preferred strategies will give recruiters insight into how you think and act.

Examples of technical questions about problem-solving are:

• How would you assess and resolve a performance issue in a web application?
• Describe your approach to troubleshooting a networking issue that spans multiple devices.
• How would you approach debugging a piece of software with limited documentation?
• How would you deal with an angry VIP customer if your boss was away?
• What would you do if you noticed a decline in the ROI of your team?

💡 Bear in mind that, with the rapid development of AI, the majority of technical tasks might be overtaken by robots in the future. That’s why it’s important that you work on your non-technical skills, too. Employers are already admitting that problem-solving skills are the second most important skill they’re looking for. For this reason, researchers are working hard to find and develop frameworks for helping people improve their problem-solving capabilities — you can read more about it in this paper on problem-solving skills among graduate engineers .

Technical problem-solving sample answer

“How would you troubleshoot an error in a software product that has been released to customers?”

✅ Pro tip: Practicing in advance is the only way to make sure your answer is flawless! The Mock Interview Tool will help you record your answer and get instant feedback on its quality and delivery. From power words and your pace of speech to “ummm” counter and eye contact, you’ll get help on how to improve in no time!

Our tool helped AJ land his first job in tech and get 7 job offers in the process . “I think Big Interview was super helpful in that aspect of having canned answers for every possible scenario and being in the moment of answering those questions.”, said AJ.

Problem-Solving Interview Questions: Popular Opinions vs. Expert Advice

Now that we covered different types of problem-solving questions and how to answer them, we decided to dive into popular forums and see what job-seekers have to say on this topic. We picked pieces of advice that resonated with the community and confronted them with expert-backed best practices. Let’s see where we stand.

IndianaJones Jr on Reddit said : “If I was an interviewer asking this question, I would expect a personalized answer relevant to yourself, not to specific projects. At least that’s my interpretation.

“What are your experiences in problem-solving?” 

Sample answer: Generally, when I’m working on a project I find it’s easier to start at the end and work backwards. I use that to get a broad strokes idea of where my work needs to take me on any particular project and then I head in that direction. I find that when I get to specific problems I can get too stuck on using tried and true methods so I try to encourage myself to use out-of-the-box solutions. For example [your example here]…”

Career expert comments:

The “bones” of this sample answer are solid. It puts emphasis on breaking down the candidate’s thought process and displays patterns through which the candidate solves problems and learns along the way. However, the most important part of the answer — the actual example of a candidate’s problem-solving skills put to practice — remains a placeholder. Remember, the more specific you get in your answer, the better the impression you make on the interviewer. So here, I recommend paying equal attention to a specific situation in which you solved a problem and using the STAR method to tell that story.

Ambitious_Tell_4852 , when discussing the question “Give an example of a challenge you faced and how you overcame it,” said: 

“Clearly, that is the standard trick question designed for a prospective new hire to tell a prospective employer about his/her professional weaknesses. Oldest “negative Nelli’’ question imaginable during the interview process. Always keep your answer thorough and positive albeit sickeningly sugar-coated! 😁”

This is, straight-out, a bad piece of advice. If an interviewer wants to hear about your weaknesses, they will ask “What is your greatest weakness?” 

A question about overcoming a challenge isn’t a trick question at all. I’d argue it’s actually an opportunity to share some of your proudest wins. But when it comes to answering this question, it’s true that your answers do need to be thorough and positive. This doesn’t mean you need to sugar-coat anything, though. Interviewers don’t want to hear you downplaying your challenges. On the contrary, they want to hear you speak about them honestly and explain what you learned from them. And being able to do so puts a healthy, positive spin on the situation. To put it shortly: provide a real example from your past, answer this question honestly, and emphasize the results and lessons learned. 

Here’s an opinion from a hiring manager, Hugh on Quora, about how to answer a question about a time you needed to solve a problem:

“It really doesn’t matter what the problem you describe is or how you solved it. What I am looking/listening for is 1) the size of the problem (the bigger, the better, a broken shoelace before going out on a date is not an impressive problem) and 2) a step-by-step process to a satisfactory solution (if suddenly all variables fell into place does not show me that you solved the problem — you were just there when it solved itself).

I am also looking/listening for an example of how you solve a problem after you are hired. I may have to explain it to my superiors, and I would like to know that I have a complete and accurate story to tell.”

Career expert comments:  

A good piece of advice from someone who has first-hand hiring experience. When talking about problem-solving, a detailed description of your process is key. The only thing I wouldn’t agree with is having to choose a “big” problem. If you do have experience solving a big problem, that’s great. But sometimes you won’t have a major problem to talk about, and it largely depends on your level of experience and your position. So pick a relevant difficulty, even if it’s not that big, in which you displayed skills relevant to the role you’re applying for.

• Problem-solving skills encompass your logical inference, technical knowledge, adaptability and innovation, leadership potential, decision-making, productivity, and collaboration.
• Because these skills are important in the workplace, there’s a variety of problem-solving interview questions recruiters will ask to assess you.
• Some of them include behavioral, situational, or technical problem-solving questions.
• In order to answer these questions, you need to be aware of your thought processes when faced with a problem.
• In your answer, be as specific as you can and use the STAR format whenever possible.
• Make sure to highlight outcomes, results, or lessons learned.
• As always, the best strategy is to anticipate these questions and prepare rough answers in advance. Including practicing your answer so you’re confident for your interview.

____________________

Need help with your job search? There are 3 ways we can help you:

• Tired of interviewing and not landing the job? Discover actionable lessons and interview practice here (Rated with 4.9/5 by 1,000,000 users).
• Learn how to talk about your proudest accomplishments without bragging or underselling yourself.
• Learn how to answer tricky questions about conflict resolution in the workplace.

How can I improve my problem-solving skills?

Stay in the loop with new technologies and trends. Accept challenges and problems as a way to grow, don’t panic over them. Acquire a systematic approach to analyzing problems, break them down into smaller components which will help you discover root causes and devise a solution plan. Practice logical thinking, evaluating evidence, and staying objective. And give yourself time. Perhaps not surprisingly, studies suggest that the more business experience you have, the better you become at problem-solving.

Are there specific resources available to practice problem-solving interview questions?

There’s a variety of resources available to you, such as courses and Youtube tutorials, Facebook/LinkedIn groups, forums such as Reddit and Quora, books, or online platforms like Big Interview. If you’re trying to develop technical problem-solving skills, you might benefit from relevant platforms’ knowledge bases or YT channels; but if you’re looking specifically for how to answer interview questions, platforms like Big Interview are the way to go.

How should I handle a question about a problem-solving scenario I have not encountered before?

Don’t be afraid to ask additional questions for clarification. If you’ve never dealt with this problem before, be honest about it but answer how you would solve the problem if you were faced with it today. Break the problem down into manageable steps, try to recall a similar situation from your own experience that could help you draw parallels, and propose several different solutions.

Can I talk about my problem-solving experiences derived from non-professional settings such as student projects?

Yes, especially if you’re a recent graduate or a candidate with limited experience. You can use experiences and examples from student projects, extracurricular activities, and you can even use examples from your personal life, as long as you present them in a professional manner and connect them to the position you’re applying for. Remember to highlight the results, as well as the skills that helped you solve the problem and that are relevant to the position you’re applying for.

Are there any common mistakes to avoid when answering problem-solving questions during an interview?

The most common mistake is not preparing in advance which causes rambling. You need to make sure that your answer is informative and well-structured, and that you’re not only presenting a solution but also laying down the steps to display your logical reasoning. Make sure not to forget to give credit to teammates if they contributed to solving the problem you chose to talk about. Finally, for a coherent and informative presentation, make sure you use the STAR method.

What can I do if I don’t know the answer to a technical problem-solving question in an interview?

Handle it professionally. You can always try to reach a conclusion by breaking down the problem and thinking out loud to show your thinking mechanism. Draw parallels between the problem at hand and another similar problem you encountered before. Lay down possible solutions, even if you’re not sure they’ll work, and be transparent — feel free to tell the recruiter you’re not sure how to answer it, but make sure you emphasize that you’re open to learning.

Can I ask for help or guidance from the interviewer during a problem-solving question?

Avoid asking for help directly, but ask for clarification in case something is unclear or if you need additional information. Sometimes, the interviewer will take the initiative and provide you with hints to encourage you and see how you think.

How can I demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness when answering problem-solving questions?

It’s all about storytelling! Preparing in advance will provide some space for displaying your creativity. You can do it by making fun analogies or drawing parallels from well-known situations; or making pop-culture references.

Maja Stojanovic

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Training in social and interpersonal problem-solving skills for mildly and moderately mentally retarded adults

• PMID: 3740114

The effectiveness of social-skills training, interpersonal problem-solving training, and a combination of the two in improving the social competence of 33 moderately and mildly mentally retarded adults was evaluated. Problem situations used in the training programs and in the key assessment measures were empirically derived. Results demonstrated that treated subjects improved on role-play tests of social skills and that moderately retarded treated subjects improved relative to moderately retarded controls on the problem-solving measure. Findings also indicated that subjects receiving the interpersonal problem-solving training component improved on ratings of personal-social responsibility. Results concerning generalization of treatment gains, however, indicated that future investigators should incorporate generalization strategies into their treatment programs.

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• The effectiveness of interpersonal skills training on the social skill acquisition of moderately and mildly retarded adults. Bates P. Bates P. J Appl Behav Anal. 1980 Summer;13(2):237-48. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1980.13-237. J Appl Behav Anal. 1980. PMID: 7380750 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
• Facilitating the vocational-interpersonal skills of mentally retarded individuals. La Greca AM, Stone WL, Bell CR 3rd. La Greca AM, et al. Am J Ment Defic. 1983 Nov;88(3):270-8. Am J Ment Defic. 1983. PMID: 6650578 Clinical Trial.
• Psychosocial correlates of depression in mentally retarded adults: II. Poor social skills. Benson BA, Reiss S, Smith DC, Laman DS. Benson BA, et al. Am J Ment Defic. 1985 May;89(6):657-9. Am J Ment Defic. 1985. PMID: 4003462
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• The assessment of social functioning in individuals with mental retardation: a review. Bielecki J, Swender SL. Bielecki J, et al. Behav Modif. 2004 Sep;28(5):694-708. doi: 10.1177/0145445503259828. Behav Modif. 2004. PMID: 15296526 Review.
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Managing to Learn

An introduction to a3 leadership and problem-solving..

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This comprehensive training will teach you how to use the potent A3 methodology, based on the proven scientific method of plan-do-check-act (PDCA), to address an important business problem within your organization.

Learning Objectives

What makes the A3 problem-solving approach so powerful is that it is a complete process — a way of thinking, leading, communicating, learning, getting things done, and developing an entire organization of problem solvers.

• Select, define, clarify and investigate a real problem from work.
• Clarify problem situations and define problems as gaps in performance.
• Visualize work processes and focus on the problems in work methods that are affecting performance.
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• Identify, evaluate, and lead in the selection of countermeasures.
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• 14 hours of live, online interaction or 16 hours of hands-on, in-person interaction
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Optional One-on-One Coaching Sessions for Online Course

Achieve an even deeper level of learning by taking personal coaching sessions with the class instructor.

These optional, half-hour sessions happen at three critical points as you create an A3 in the workshop:

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Schedule Overview – In-Person

October 2-3, 2024 In-Person Course All sessions hosted 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET and instructed by Eric Ethington

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Senior Coach and Chief Engineer Product and Process Development Lean Enterprise Institute President, Lean Shift Consulting

Eric has distilled his passion for and knowledge of lean thinking and practice in product and process development, nurtured over 30 years of work experience, into The Power of Process: A Story of Innovative Lean Process Development (2022). Before founding Lean Shift Consulting and becoming a coach and program manager at LEI in 2016, he […]

Lavon Medlock

Lavon Medlock has spent over two decades enhancing leaders’ skills in problem-solving and coaching. Skilled in a variety of continuous improvement methods, she has trained leaders in creating effective daily management systems, deployed an integrated facility design approach to new construction projects like a 90,000-square-foot patient tower, and enhanced operations across different sectors.  With a […]

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Senior Coach and Chief Engineer, Strategy Lean Enterprise Institute

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David Verble

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What is AI (artificial intelligence)?

Humans and machines: a match made in productivity  heaven. Our species wouldn’t have gotten very far without our mechanized workhorses. From the wheel that revolutionized agriculture to the screw that held together increasingly complex construction projects to the robot-enabled assembly lines of today, machines have made life as we know it possible. And yet, despite their seemingly endless utility, humans have long feared machines—more specifically, the possibility that machines might someday acquire human intelligence  and strike out on their own.

Get to know and directly engage with senior McKinsey experts on AI

Sven Blumberg is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Düsseldorf office; Michael Chui is a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute and is based in the Bay Area office, where Lareina Yee is a senior partner; Kia Javanmardian is a senior partner in the Chicago office, where Alex Singla , the global leader of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, is also a senior partner; Kate Smaje and Alex Sukharevsky are senior partners in the London office.

But we tend to view the possibility of sentient machines with fascination as well as fear. This curiosity has helped turn science fiction into actual science. Twentieth-century theoreticians, like computer scientist and mathematician Alan Turing, envisioned a future where machines could perform functions faster than humans. The work of Turing and others soon made this a reality. Personal calculators became widely available in the 1970s, and by 2016, the US census showed that 89 percent of American households had a computer. Machines— smart machines at that—are now just an ordinary part of our lives and culture.

Those smart machines are also getting faster and more complex. Some computers have now crossed the exascale threshold, meaning they can perform as many calculations in a single second as an individual could in 31,688,765,000 years . And beyond computation, which machines have long been faster at than we have, computers and other devices are now acquiring skills and perception that were once unique to humans and a few other species.

About QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey

QuantumBlack, McKinsey’s AI arm, helps companies transform using the power of technology, technical expertise, and industry experts. With thousands of practitioners at QuantumBlack (data engineers, data scientists, product managers, designers, and software engineers) and McKinsey (industry and domain experts), we are working to solve the world’s most important AI challenges. QuantumBlack Labs is our center of technology development and client innovation, which has been driving cutting-edge advancements and developments in AI through locations across the globe.

AI is a machine’s ability to perform the cognitive functions we associate with human minds, such as perceiving, reasoning, learning, interacting with the environment, problem-solving, and even exercising creativity. You’ve probably interacted with AI even if you don’t realize it—voice assistants like Siri and Alexa are founded on AI technology, as are some customer service chatbots that pop up to help you navigate websites.

Applied AI —simply, artificial intelligence applied to real-world problems—has serious implications for the business world. By using artificial intelligence, companies have the potential to make business more efficient and profitable. But ultimately, the value of AI isn’t in the systems themselves. Rather, it’s in how companies use these systems to assist humans—and their ability to explain to shareholders and the public what these systems do—in a way that builds trust and confidence.

For more about AI, its history, its future, and how to apply it in business, read on.

Learn more about QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey .

Introducing McKinsey Explainers : Direct answers to complex questions

What is machine learning.

Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence that can adapt to a wide range of inputs, including large sets of historical data, synthesized data, or human inputs. (Some machine learning algorithms are specialized in training themselves to detect patterns; this is called deep learning. See Exhibit 1.) These algorithms can detect patterns and learn how to make predictions and recommendations by processing data, rather than by receiving explicit programming instruction. Some algorithms can also adapt in response to new data and experiences to improve over time.

The volume and complexity of data that is now being generated, too vast for humans to process and apply efficiently, has increased the potential of machine learning, as well as the need for it. In the years since its widespread deployment, which began in the 1970s, machine learning has had an impact on a number of industries, including achievements in medical-imaging analysis  and high-resolution weather forecasting.

The volume and complexity of data that is now being generated, too vast for humans to process and apply efficiently, has increased the potential of machine learning, as well as the need for it.

What is deep learning?

Deep learning is a more advanced version of machine learning that is particularly adept at processing a wider range of data resources (text as well as unstructured data including images), requires even less human intervention, and can often produce more accurate results than traditional machine learning. Deep learning uses neural networks—based on the ways neurons interact in the human brain —to ingest data and process it through multiple neuron layers that recognize increasingly complex features of the data. For example, an early layer might recognize something as being in a specific shape; building on this knowledge, a later layer might be able to identify the shape as a stop sign. Similar to machine learning, deep learning uses iteration to self-correct and improve its prediction capabilities. For example, once it “learns” what a stop sign looks like, it can recognize a stop sign in a new image.

What is generative AI?

Case study: vistra and the martin lake power plant.

Vistra is a large power producer in the United States, operating plants in 12 states with a capacity to power nearly 20 million homes. Vistra has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. In support of this goal, as well as to improve overall efficiency, QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey worked with Vistra to build and deploy an AI-powered heat rate optimizer (HRO) at one of its plants.

“Heat rate” is a measure of the thermal efficiency of the plant; in other words, it’s the amount of fuel required to produce each unit of electricity. To reach the optimal heat rate, plant operators continuously monitor and tune hundreds of variables, such as steam temperatures, pressures, oxygen levels, and fan speeds.

Vistra and a McKinsey team, including data scientists and machine learning engineers, built a multilayered neural network model. The model combed through two years’ worth of data at the plant and learned which combination of factors would attain the most efficient heat rate at any point in time. When the models were accurate to 99 percent or higher and run through a rigorous set of real-world tests, the team converted them into an AI-powered engine that generates recommendations every 30 minutes for operators to improve the plant’s heat rate efficiency. One seasoned operations manager at the company’s plant in Odessa, Texas, said, “There are things that took me 20 years to learn about these power plants. This model learned them in an afternoon.”

Overall, the AI-powered HRO helped Vistra achieve the following:

• approximately 1.6 million metric tons of carbon abated annually
• 67 power generators optimized
• $60 million saved in about a year

Read more about the Vistra story here .

Generative AI (gen AI) is an AI model that generates content in response to a prompt. It’s clear that generative AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E (a tool for AI-generated art) have the potential to change how a range of jobs  are performed. Much is still unknown about gen AI’s potential, but there are some questions we can answer—like how gen AI models are built, what kinds of problems they are best suited to solve, and how they fit into the broader category of AI and machine learning.

For more on generative AI and how it stands to affect business and society, check out our Explainer “ What is generative AI? ”

What is the history of AI?

The term “artificial intelligence” was coined in 1956  by computer scientist John McCarthy for a workshop at Dartmouth. But he wasn’t the first to write about the concepts we now describe as AI. Alan Turing introduced the concept of the “ imitation game ” in a 1950 paper. That’s the test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior, now known as the “Turing test.” He believed researchers should focus on areas that don’t require too much sensing and action, things like games and language translation. Research communities dedicated to concepts like computer vision, natural language understanding, and neural networks are, in many cases, several decades old.

MIT physicist Rodney Brooks shared details on the four previous stages of AI:

Symbolic AI (1956). Symbolic AI is also known as classical AI, or even GOFAI (good old-fashioned AI). The key concept here is the use of symbols and logical reasoning to solve problems. For example, we know a German shepherd is a dog , which is a mammal; all mammals are warm-blooded; therefore, a German shepherd should be warm-blooded.

The main problem with symbolic AI is that humans still need to manually encode their knowledge of the world into the symbolic AI system, rather than allowing it to observe and encode relationships on its own. As a result, symbolic AI systems struggle with situations involving real-world complexity. They also lack the ability to learn from large amounts of data.

Symbolic AI was the dominant paradigm of AI research until the late 1980s.

Neural networks (1954, 1969, 1986, 2012). Neural networks are the technology behind the recent explosive growth of gen AI. Loosely modeling the ways neurons interact in the human brain , neural networks ingest data and process it through multiple iterations that learn increasingly complex features of the data. The neural network can then make determinations about the data, learn whether a determination is correct, and use what it has learned to make determinations about new data. For example, once it “learns” what an object looks like, it can recognize the object in a new image.

Neural networks were first proposed in 1943 in an academic paper by neurophysiologist Warren McCulloch and logician Walter Pitts. Decades later, in 1969, two MIT researchers mathematically demonstrated that neural networks could perform only very basic tasks. In 1986, there was another reversal, when computer scientist and cognitive psychologist Geoffrey Hinton and colleagues solved the neural network problem presented by the MIT researchers. In the 1990s, computer scientist Yann LeCun made major advancements in neural networks’ use in computer vision, while Jürgen Schmidhuber advanced the application of recurrent neural networks as used in language processing.

In 2012, Hinton and two of his students highlighted the power of deep learning. They applied Hinton’s algorithm to neural networks with many more layers than was typical, sparking a new focus on deep neural networks. These have been the main AI approaches of recent years.

Traditional robotics (1968). During the first few decades of AI, researchers built robots to advance research. Some robots were mobile, moving around on wheels, while others were fixed, with articulated arms. Robots used the earliest attempts at computer vision to identify and navigate through their environments or to understand the geometry of objects and maneuver them. This could include moving around blocks of various shapes and colors. Most of these robots, just like the ones that have been used in factories for decades, rely on highly controlled environments with thoroughly scripted behaviors that they perform repeatedly. They have not contributed significantly to the advancement of AI itself.

But traditional robotics did have significant impact in one area, through a process called “simultaneous localization and mapping” (SLAM). SLAM algorithms helped contribute to self-driving cars and are used in consumer products like vacuum cleaning robots and quadcopter drones. Today, this work has evolved into behavior-based robotics, also referred to as haptic technology because it responds to human touch.

• Behavior-based robotics (1985). In the real world, there aren’t always clear instructions for navigation, decision making, or problem-solving. Insects, researchers observed, navigate very well (and are evolutionarily very successful) with few neurons. Behavior-based robotics researchers took inspiration from this, looking for ways robots could solve problems with partial knowledge and conflicting instructions. These behavior-based robots are embedded with neural networks.

Learn more about  QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey .

What is artificial general intelligence?

The term “artificial general intelligence” (AGI) was coined to describe AI systems that possess capabilities comparable to those of a human . In theory, AGI could someday replicate human-like cognitive abilities including reasoning, problem-solving, perception, learning, and language comprehension. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: the key word here is “someday.” Most researchers and academics believe we are decades away from realizing AGI; some even predict we won’t see AGI this century, or ever. Rodney Brooks, an MIT roboticist and cofounder of iRobot, doesn’t believe AGI will arrive until the year 2300 .

The timing of AGI’s emergence may be uncertain. But when it does emerge—and it likely will—it’s going to be a very big deal, in every aspect of our lives. Executives should begin working to understand the path to machines achieving human-level intelligence now and making the transition to a more automated world.

For more on AGI, including the four previous attempts at AGI, read our Explainer .

What is narrow AI?

Narrow AI is the application of AI techniques to a specific and well-defined problem, such as chatbots like ChatGPT, algorithms that spot fraud in credit card transactions, and natural-language-processing engines that quickly process thousands of legal documents. Most current AI applications fall into the category of narrow AI. AGI is, by contrast, AI that’s intelligent enough to perform a broad range of tasks.

How is the use of AI expanding?

AI is a big story for all kinds of businesses, but some companies are clearly moving ahead of the pack . Our state of AI in 2022 survey showed that adoption of AI models has more than doubled since 2017—and investment has increased apace. What’s more, the specific areas in which companies see value from AI have evolved, from manufacturing and risk to the following:

• marketing and sales
• product and service development
• strategy and corporate finance

One group of companies is pulling ahead of its competitors. Leaders of these organizations consistently make larger investments in AI, level up their practices to scale faster, and hire and upskill the best AI talent. More specifically, they link AI strategy to business outcomes and “ industrialize ” AI operations by designing modular data architecture that can quickly accommodate new applications.

What are the limitations of AI models? How can these potentially be overcome?

We have yet to see the longtail effect of gen AI models. This means there are some inherent risks involved in using them—both known and unknown.

The outputs gen AI models produce may often sound extremely convincing. This is by design. But sometimes the information they generate is just plain wrong. Worse, sometimes it’s biased (because it’s built on the gender, racial, and other biases of the internet and society more generally).

It can also be manipulated to enable unethical or criminal activity. Since gen AI models burst onto the scene, organizations have become aware of users trying to “jailbreak” the models—that means trying to get them to break their own rules and deliver biased, harmful, misleading, or even illegal content. Gen AI organizations are responding to this threat in two ways: for one thing, they’re collecting feedback from users on inappropriate content. They’re also combing through their databases, identifying prompts that led to inappropriate content, and training the model against these types of generations.

But awareness and even action don’t guarantee that harmful content won’t slip the dragnet. Organizations that rely on gen AI models should be aware of the reputational and legal risks involved in unintentionally publishing biased, offensive, or copyrighted content.

These risks can be mitigated, however, in a few ways. “Whenever you use a model,” says McKinsey partner Marie El Hoyek, “you need to be able to counter biases  and instruct it not to use inappropriate or flawed sources, or things you don’t trust.” How? For one thing, it’s crucial to carefully select the initial data used to train these models to avoid including toxic or biased content. Next, rather than employing an off-the-shelf gen AI model, organizations could consider using smaller, specialized models. Organizations with more resources could also customize a general model based on their own data to fit their needs and minimize biases.

It’s also important to keep a human in the loop (that is, to make sure a real human checks the output of a gen AI model before it is published or used) and avoid using gen AI models for critical decisions, such as those involving significant resources or human welfare.

It can’t be emphasized enough that this is a new field. The landscape of risks and opportunities is likely to continue to change rapidly in the coming years. As gen AI becomes increasingly incorporated into business, society, and our personal lives, we can also expect a new regulatory climate to take shape. As organizations experiment—and create value—with these tools, leaders will do well to keep a finger on the pulse of regulation and risk.

What is the AI Bill of Rights?

The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, prepared by the US government in 2022, provides a framework for how government, technology companies, and citizens can collectively ensure more accountable AI. As AI has become more ubiquitous, concerns have surfaced  about a potential lack of transparency surrounding the functioning of gen AI systems, the data used to train them, issues of bias and fairness, potential intellectual property infringements, privacy violations, and more. The Blueprint comprises five principles that the White House says should “guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems to protect [users] in the age of artificial intelligence.” They are as follows:

• The right to safe and effective systems. Systems should undergo predeployment testing, risk identification and mitigation, and ongoing monitoring to demonstrate that they are adhering to their intended use.
• Protections against discrimination by algorithms. Algorithmic discrimination is when automated systems contribute to unjustified different treatment of people based on their race, color, ethnicity, sex, religion, age, and more.
• Protections against abusive data practices, via built-in safeguards. Users should also have agency over how their data is used.
• The right to know that an automated system is being used, and a clear explanation of how and why it contributes to outcomes that affect the user.
• The right to opt out, and access to a human who can quickly consider and fix problems.

At present, more than 60 countries or blocs have national strategies governing the responsible use of AI (Exhibit 2). These include Brazil, China, the European Union, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States. The approaches taken vary from guidelines-based approaches, such as the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights in the United States, to comprehensive AI regulations that align with existing data protection and cybersecurity regulations, such as the EU’s AI Act, due in 2024.

There are also collaborative efforts between countries to set out standards for AI use. The US–EU Trade and Technology Council is working toward greater alignment between Europe and the United States. The Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, formed in 2020, has 29 members including Brazil, Canada, Japan, the United States, and several European countries.

Even though AI regulations are still being developed, organizations should act now to avoid legal, reputational, organizational, and financial risks. In an environment of public concern, a misstep could be costly. Here are four no-regrets, preemptive actions organizations can implement today:

• Transparency. Create an inventory of models, classifying them in accordance with regulation, and record all usage across the organization that is clear to those inside and outside the organization.
• Governance. Implement a governance structure for AI and gen AI that ensures sufficient oversight, authority, and accountability both within the organization and with third parties and regulators.
• Data management. Proper data management includes awareness of data sources, data classification, data quality and lineage, intellectual property, and privacy management.
• Model management. Organizations should establish principles and guardrails for AI development and use them to ensure all AI models uphold fairness and bias controls.
• Cybersecurity and technology management. Establish strong cybersecurity and technology to ensure a secure environment where unauthorized access or misuse is prevented.
• Individual rights. Make users aware when they are interacting with an AI system, and provide clear instructions for use.

How can organizations scale up their AI efforts from ad hoc projects to full integration?

Most organizations are dipping a toe into the AI pool—not cannonballing. Slow progress toward widespread adoption is likely due to cultural and organizational barriers. But leaders who effectively break down these barriers will be best placed to capture the opportunities of the AI era. And—crucially—companies that can’t take full advantage of AI are already being sidelined by those that can, in industries like auto manufacturing and financial services.

To scale up AI, organizations can make three major shifts :

• Move from siloed work to interdisciplinary collaboration. AI projects shouldn’t be limited to discrete pockets of organizations. Rather, AI has the biggest impact when it’s employed by cross-functional teams with a mix of skills and perspectives, enabling AI to address broad business priorities.
• Empower frontline data-based decision making . AI has the potential to enable faster, better decisions at all levels of an organization. But for this to work, people at all levels need to trust the algorithms’ suggestions and feel empowered to make decisions. (Equally, people should be able to override the algorithm or make suggestions for improvement when necessary.)
• Adopt and bolster an agile mindset. The agile test-and-learn mindset will help reframe mistakes as sources of discovery, allaying the fear of failure and speeding up development.

Learn more about QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey , and check out AI-related job opportunities if you’re interested in working at McKinsey.

Articles referenced:

• “ As gen AI advances, regulators—and risk functions—rush to keep pace ,” December 21, 2023, Andreas Kremer, Angela Luget , Daniel Mikkelsen , Henning Soller , Malin Strandell-Jansson, and Sheila Zingg
• “ What is generative AI? ,” January 19, 2023
• “ Tech highlights from 2022—in eight charts ,” December 22, 2022
• “ Generative AI is here: How tools like ChatGPT could change your business ,” December 20, 2022, Michael Chui , Roger Roberts , and Lareina Yee  
• “ The state of AI in 2022—and a half decade in review ,” December 6, 2022, Michael Chui , Bryce Hall , Helen Mayhew , Alex Singla , and Alex Sukharevsky  
• “ Why businesses need explainable AI—and how to deliver it ,” September 29, 2022, Liz Grennan , Andreas Kremer, Alex Singla , and Peter Zipparo
• “ Why digital trust truly matters ,” September 12, 2022, Jim Boehm , Liz Grennan , Alex Singla , and Kate Smaje
• “ McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2023 ,” July 20, 2023, Michael Chui , Mena Issler, Roger Roberts , and Lareina Yee  
• “ An AI power play: Fueling the next wave of innovation in the energy sector ,” May 12, 2022, Barry Boswell, Sean Buckley, Ben Elliott, Matias Melero , and Micah Smith  
• “ Scaling AI like a tech native: The CEO’s role ,” October 13, 2021, Jacomo Corbo, David Harvey, Nicolas Hohn, Kia Javanmardian , and Nayur Khan
• “ What the draft European Union AI regulations mean for business ,” August 10, 2021, Misha Benjamin, Kevin Buehler , Rachel Dooley, and Peter Zipparo
• “ Winning with AI is a state of mind ,” April 30, 2021, Thomas Meakin , Jeremy Palmer, Valentina Sartori , and Jamie Vickers
• “ Breaking through data-architecture gridlock to scale AI ,” January 26, 2021, Sven Blumberg , Jorge Machado , Henning Soller , and Asin Tavakoli  
• “ An executive’s guide to AI ,” November 17, 2020, Michael Chui , Brian McCarthy, and Vishnu Kamalnath
• “ Executive’s guide to developing AI at scale ,” October 28, 2020, Nayur Khan , Brian McCarthy, and Adi Pradhan
• “ An executive primer on artificial general intelligence ,” April 29, 2020, Federico Berruti , Pieter Nel, and Rob Whiteman
• “ The analytics academy: Bridging the gap between human and artificial intelligence ,” McKinsey Quarterly , September 25, 2019, Solly Brown, Darshit Gandhi, Louise Herring , and Ankur Puri  

This article was updated in April 2024; it was originally published in April 2023.

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