5 Creative Ways to Get Around Roadblocks

Photo by leedsyorkshire.

Post by Carolyn Heacock.

You’re clipping along at a pretty good pace. Everything is falling into place. You’re feeling great about your current project and then, suddenly, without any warning, you hit a roadblock. Circumstances beyond your control prevent you from making any more progress. Through no fault of your own, you’re at a stand still. The path you were on is now closed.

This has happened to me more than once at my current job. I’ll be feeling great about the progress I’m making in a certain area and then something happens that causes me to stop dead in my tracks. The path I was going down is no longer an option.

When this happens to you, your first reaction might be negative. If a policy was made that interferes with your project, you wonder why you weren’t consulted. If you were consulted, you wonder why your advice wasn’t taken. If the flow of necessary resources has suddenly stopped, you’re angry. Regardless of what the roadblock is or why it’s obstructing your progress, you want it removed. Initially, all you can think about is your frustration with the current circumstances and how they are inconveniencing you and hindering your effectiveness.

The reality is that once a roadblock appears, if you’re going to make progress on the task at hand, you have to come to terms with the fact that the path you were previously on is no longer an option. It doesn’t matter why it’s not an option. It just isn’t. It’s pointless to get angry. It’s a waste of time and energy to complain. It serves no purpose to be negative. It’s time to reject any negative thoughts that are filling your head and figure out a new approach.

Over the years, I’ve come up with some steps for getting around roadblocks so I can get back on the path to success.

1. Recognize the roadblock as an opportunity for growth.

When adversity hits, you can choose to get angry and stagnate or you can choose to recognize adversity as an opportunity to expand your repertoire of personal or professional skills. Every time you overcome an obstacle, you’re that much more prepared to handle future challenges.

2. Get your creative juices flowing.

After you’ve made the commitment to view the obstacle in a positive light, it will take creativity on your part to come up with another effective plan for reaching your goal. If the resources you had been using are no longer available to you, what others resources are at your disposal? Once you determine what resources are available to you, think creatively about how you can use them.

Much of problem-solving is being able to envision ways to use resources in unconventional ways. Don’t reject any ideas initially. When every idea is fair game, you increase the likliehood that you’ll come up with an innovative solution that will actually work. Who knows, your new approach may even be better than your original approach, resulting in even greater productivity and effectiveness. It takes discipline to include what you might consider to be stupid ideas on your list of possible solutions, but do it anyway. Sometimes giving validity to the ideas we would typically reject allows us to discover the perfect solution.

3. Engage others in the process.

One of the best resources available to you is the advice of others. Consult with your colleagues and peers, read blogs and online forums, read books and trade magazines, listen to podcasts, talk to your parents (seriously – they often have some of the best advice even when they don’t understand the specifics of the situation).

Find out what others who have faced similar situations have done. Talking to a variety of people provides you with a variety of viewpoints. If you limit your conversations to people who think like you think, you probably won’t get the fresh ideas you need. Get gutsy. Talk to people who will shoot straight with you. Remember, don’t reject any ideas initially.

The new path might be right in front of you but, for one reason or another, you can’t see it. You just need someone else to point it out and then you can get on your way.

4. Be willing to negotiate.

When the roadblock is another person, the process may take a bit longer and it may be more challenging. You’ve not only got to arrive at a solution that is workable for you, but one that is also workable for the other person as well. You’ve got to negotiate.

Find out what the other person is thinking. What are his goals? How does he hope to accomplish them? Why has he chosen this particular course of action? Try to unearth his reason for blocking your progress. Listen for his motivation. What is driving his decision?

Listen particularly for any areas of commonality between you two. It’s possible that you both want the same things but have chosen to go about reaching the goal in two different ways. Once you recognize that you both agree on the goal, it will be easier to discuss how you can work together to accomplish it. You will most likely need to change your approach, but as long as you are reaching your goal, that shouldn’t be a problem.

If, after listening carefully, you discover that the other person’s goal is different from yours, the negotiation process may take longer. It’s important for you to have done your homework and know your bottom line.

Under what conditions would you be willing to rethink your goal? Being willing to alter this goal may allow you to reach a more important goal.

Is there any specific area in which you aren’t willing to compromise? For example, if getting around this particular obstacle requires you to compromise your integrity, you may decide that price is too great.

The more flexible you are willing to be, the more likely you will be able to find a workable solution.

5. Remain optimistic about finding a solution.

If your first solution doesn’t work, don’t be disheartened. In fact, you may have to go through many solutions before you can find one that works. This is all part of the learning process. Don’t give up. Be careful not to blame someone else or slip back into negative thought patterns. Remain positive and persevere, believing that you’re one step closer to finding the answer you’re looking for.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of ways to get around roadblocks. If you have had success with others, feel free to leave them in the comments below.

Carolyn Heacock is author of leading kids today (feed) where she writes for leaders who want to make a difference in the lives of kids.