Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
I saw a comment on social media lately that said, “All problems have solutions.” And that’s true. I like to think of a problem as the difference between the current state or condition and the desired state or condition. So, the solution to a problem is to get from where you are to where you want to be.
But not every challenge we face is a “problem”. The book “Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems” by Barry Johnson, Ph.D. introduces the concept of a polarity, which is defined as “the presence of two opposing, opposite, or contrasting attributes, principles, or tendences”. Examples of polarities include:
Low Cost and High Quality
Planning and Action
Innovation and Standardization
Stability and Change
The reason I’m bringing this up is because organizations and individuals can become frustrated if they view polarities as problems to be solved. The key is to manage a polarity. Johnson’s book goes into detail about how to manage polarities but here are a few initial questions to consider:
- What are the two “poles” in the polarity?
- What are the upsides of each pole in the polarity?
- What are the downsides of each pole in the polarity?
- What would happen if we focus totally on the left pole and ignored the right one?
- What would happen if we focus totally on the right pole and ignored the left one?
Here’s an example:
Let’s say a non-profit organization is trying to find more volunteers. An individual is evaluating whether they would like to volunteer. This isn’t a problem. It’s a polarity.
- The two poles are work and volunteer.
- The upsides of work are fun work, nice coworkers, money, benefits, etc. The upsides of volunteering are giving back to the community, learning new things, and meeting new people.
- The downsides of work are less networking with new people, possibly mundane work, and maybe an out of touch boss. The downsides of volunteering include no control over assignments, potential bureaucracy, and no pay.
- If we totally focus on work and ignore volunteering, we might feel disconnected from the community and unfulfilled. If we focus on volunteering and ignore work, we could be broke and without benefits.
The point being, we want to find a way to manage both so we can do both work and volunteer. That might involve volunteering regularly in a small way. Or maybe volunteering at one or two big events a year and asking the organization to support their time off. There’s no wrong answer.
Which gets us back to the quote I mentioned about problems and solutions. The key is understanding if what we’re dealing with is a problem that needs to be solved OR a polarity that needs to be managed. The next time you’re feeling frustrated about a problem not being solved … maybe ask yourself if it’s really a problem. Maybe it’s not a problem – but a polarity.
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Miami, FL
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