Once upon a time, Einstein had come up with a statement, “A problem cannot be solved at the same level at which it was created”. With time, we have read a lot of versions of this; for example, “What has got you here, cannot take you there”. There has been a number of versions right from spiritual gurus, philosophers, scientists and thought leaders. I found a nice analogy to this while watching the just concluded FIFA World Cup. Each of the 11 players that are playing for their team knows their position and their role. For the maximum duration of the game, they are more concerned about the area of operation around them and they cannot get the birds-eye view of the field. The team goes on the field with a particular plan which has been decided by the coach and the team’s captain before the game starts. Now, when this plan fails to work, that’s where the coach changes the plan real time and makes substitutions. He is able to analyze the situation and implement the new plan because he is sitting (or standing) at a different level altogether. Being dissociated from the field he has the birds-eye view, unlike the individual players who are very much associated to their game. The coach changes the plan and works towards winning the game. Do you realize, this is so close to what Einstein had said? The coach is at a different level and hence is able to find a solution.
Mostly, when you take yourself out of your problematic situation and look at the problem from a distance, putting yourself in a 3rd person’s shoes or being the ‘fly on the wall’, you are able to find solutions easily. But sometimes implementing those solutions can be a bit tough. We will look at that later. Today, I have a nice problem-solving model for you which will help you solve all kinds of problems in your life. This model was conceptualized by Robert Dilts and is called, ‘The Neurological Levels Model’. This model is also consistent to the statement from Einstein about going to other levels (mostly higher) to solve the problem. I find this model so effective and magical, that I teach this concept in NLP Practitioner course and Emotional Intelligence Training. Naturally, people are empowered to solve their problems on their own. This is what the model looks like:
How you can remember this model is by remembering the statement, “God I can’t do that here”. Let me explain the model to you. At the highest point, is the mission or the purpose of life. Have you ever wondered, why you are on this planet? Or for that matter why ‘God’ has sent you here (that is if you are a believer). You may not have thought of either of these statements because you may have naturally found your purpose. Like for me, my mission statement is quite simple, “To educate others”. That purpose gives me an ‘Identity’ of a ‘Trainer’ which is the second level in the model below the mission. I have certain beliefs as well, some of which are related to my mission and identity and others may just be a part of my upbringing. I have a belief that a trainer should always be committed to enhancing competency levels of the trainees. In case s/he doesn’t comply with this, then it is a serious blot on the trainer’s intention. But that’s my belief. We all have certain beliefs about everything. Some of us have limiting beliefs that we may not be successful in running a business or maybe someone feels s/he is not good enough to be in a relationship. On the other hand, some of us have some empowering beliefs as well like I will be able to change this world for good or I will be able to make it to the National Basketball team and so on. The third level is about your ‘Beliefs and Values’. Your Values hold on to your Beliefs and that’s what gives you the structure of your thinking and doing. It gives you your personality. NLP talks a great deal about this, especially when it comes to self-awareness and to have a game-changing Transformation in your life.
The 4th level is about what you can ‘do’ and what you don’t (or can’t) and a lot of the times you get that answer in the level of ‘Beliefs’ as well. ‘Do’ is about your ‘Capabilities’, either the lack of them or their presence. ‘Behaviour’ is the tip of the iceberg which you can ‘see’. Your behavior is ‘that’ which defines you from within, that is, your Values, Beliefs, and Personality. The ‘environment’ is about what is ‘here’ around you and whether it is helping you or going against you. That is how, the model is remembered by making the statement, “God I can’t do that here” because each word points to each level in the Neurological levels model. I just love giving this example of how everything changes when you change the Mission. For example, if you change your religion tomorrow (which somewhat points to God and hence Mission or Purpose), your ‘Identity’ automatically changes (for example the name), Beliefs and Values are (forced to) change. You start ‘doing’ things you’ve never done, for example, reading Quran/Gita/Bible, hence the capabilities change. Behavior changes mostly because your Values and Beliefs have changed. Suddenly, you have an Altar in the house where you used to have your small Temple or used to keep the holy Quran. That is an example of the ‘Environment’ changing because things around you have changed. This is a short description of what ‘God I can’t do that here’ signifies.
Coming back to the earlier statement by Einstein (Problem cannot be solved at the same level it was created), I think all the people related and non-technical problems can be solved using Robert Dilts’s Neurological Levels model (God I can’t do that here). Let me give you a real-life example. When I started my career 15 years ago, I had started working with a Manufacturing firm in the Sales department. I have made lots of mistakes in my life and this was one of them; choosing a Sales career, whereas I am a Psychology man, probably an HR person as well. On the first day of my professional life, I was so enthusiastic about the transformation. Slowly, when as I was going through my induction process they finally told me about their expectations from me (which were quite normal expectations for a Sales guy) but I was rattled to the core. Somewhere, I was disinterested in selling, and that added up to my job dissatisfaction. I clearly saw that I am not the type who likes taking monthly targets and goes through the grind the entire month and at the end of it listen to the verbal abuse from the Business Head, irrespective of the performance. I have been through my share of “Get the fuck out”, “Get your ass moving”, “I have never seen a dumb-fuck like you before this”. 6 months into my first job, and I used to dread going to the office. The moment I stepped inside the company gate, everyone could see my vulnerable body language which was a fair indication of what I was expecting through the day. I carried the same body language when I visited the clients or the dealers. That’s when I realized, I need to work on my Assertiveness skills. I was in deep trouble. I didn’t know what to do and felt helpless. Now, this is a problem, isn’t it? Today when I know how to solve it, I wonder why they couldn’t teach this during my graduation or post-graduation. Fresh graduates need to know this before they take the leap. Nevertheless, let us solve it here.
Look at the Neurological model. At which level do you think this problem exists? Environment? Nope! People were doing a good job anyway in the environment. I had thought of changing my job (which means changing the environment), but I am sure I would have faced the same problem in another organization. The rule is, “Learn to deal with your demons in your current organization so that you are equipped to deal with the same and new ones in the next organization”. So, the problem wasn’t in the environment. Behavior? Yes, from one perspective! Capabilities? Of course, I could have done better with a good mentor which I didn’t find in that organization. But let me just go to the bottom line. The problem was actually in my Beliefs and Values. I used to ‘believe’ I am not a Salesperson. Thus, the other problems followed including my below average performance. Today, I am running my own business and I am successful because I am able to sell. The problem existed in my ‘Beliefs’. Today, I have the ‘Belief’ that ‘I’ can achieve anything ‘I’ want. ‘I’ am an achiever. ‘I’ want to see success. Are you wondering why I am using single quotes for ‘I’? Because I solved the problem (which existed in Beliefs level) in ‘Identity’ level. What do I think about myself became more important with the craving to grow in my career.
If you really think about it, you can solve any ‘people-related’ problem using this model. It gives you the blueprint for effective Problem-solving. For example, here is a classic situation in which employees are not easily accepting to do the extra work (or let us just say work). I am sure if you have led a team anytime in your life, you must have come across this problem. It is indeed a ‘behavioural’ problem, isn’t it? Quite obvious! But have you gone exploring what lies behind the problem? Sometimes, people think if they accept to do more work, then they will always be doing more work and staying busy. Does it ring a bell? Yes, ‘Beliefs’! The leader needs to do a lot of talking to everyone and one message needs to be sent across that all everyone is given a distinct role and tasks are equally distributed. Saying this (and they need to believe it) will change their belief of always being busy. So, the problem which was in the behavior level got solved in the ‘Beliefs’ level. Sometimes people don’t do their work because they are incapable of doing it. Indeed, ‘Capabilities’. You need to train them to get the best out of them.
Slowly, I changed my ‘Mission’ because I didn’t ‘want’ to work for someone, I ‘wanted’ to work for myself and in the way I ‘wanted’. I have just changed the ‘can’t’ to ‘want’ and that’s how my Mission changed. Now I am a Learning & Development Professional (Mission) and they call me a Trainer (Identity). I believe I can change this world through my trainings (Beliefs) and I will continuously build my ‘Capabilities’ to be able to offer value to my trainees. I need to ‘behave’ like a resourceful and helping trainer. Obviously, the environment around me has changed since the day I changed my career (Mission). Try doing this. Think of all the problems at the workplace or at home or with your friends. Plot them in terms of where they exist. Look for a solution and you will find it at a higher level definitely. Of course, you can always reach out to me, Amarendra Chitale, to get some more insight if required. This has an amazing application in Coaching (Life Coaching and Executive Coaching) as well, along with Leadership Development. I have seen this work like magic in sorting out Relationship issues. Do write to me if it really works for you, if you have any queries and if you have some innovative idea related to this concept.
