Generalisation in management is a dangerous thing. When you’re under pressure from your superiors to give instant feedback, the temptation is to categorise problems in a general fashion; ‘the goods inwards problem’, ‘the productivity problem’ etc. You may begin to see them that way. That type of generalisation is de-constructive.

The trouble is both your managers and your team may have a different perspective on what that problem may be. Imagine you’re a manager who is not happy with the results of your team. Perhaps, you have sent your personnel on some telephone sales training and you’re not seeing the results you expected. You have a sales problem.

Before you jump to conclusions and behave in a reactive fashion, it’s a good idea to undertake some thorough cause analysis. You need to ask yourself – “Why is this happening, what is stopping my expectations being met?”

For example, you may discover that your sales team are not achieving their telephone sales targets, not because they are under-performing, but that peak selling times are clashing with a scheduled interdepartmental meeting.

Just because you’re responsible for implementing positive change, doesn’t mean you have to find all the answers yourself. Identify what or who is involved with the difficult issue, and consult with them. They will help you have a much clearer cause analysis of the situation. Identify what specifically you want to achieve, set a clear objective that everyone signs up to, and take any corrective action necessary to help them achieve it.