Use Divergent and Convergent Thinking in Problem-Solving

One common source of tension in executive meetings—or any collaborative session with high-performing teams—is when some people are in diverging mode (brainstorming ideas) while others are in converging mode (making decisions). The result? Frustration, confusion, and misalignment. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to set the tone and make it clear which mode you’re in. If you’re diverging, the focus is on exploring possibilities. You lead with curiosity over criticism and all ideas are encouraged and accepted - even (especially) the bold and crazy ones. Later, you transition to converging —introducing real-world constraints such as budgets, technical feasibility, timelines, and user needs. Then you can effectively select a path forward by choosing the best idea or designing a hybrid solution with the best components of multiple ideas. If one person in the room is trying to converge while one is trying to diverge, everybody gets frustrated. Timebox your sessions, explicitly state which mode you’re in, and create space for both phases. Diverge to explore. Converge to decide. Balance curiosity with focus, and you’ll lead your team to progress without spinning in circles.

How the Double Diamond method helped me think and design better at Microsoft: I wish I learned the Double Diamond design process earlier at Microsoft. The Double Diamond is a tool that can help more leaders solve problems better. Too many people run around with a hammer looking for a nail: "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." -- Abraham Maslow And too many people brainstorm the solution, without even brainstorming the problem. The Double Diamond helps fix this. How? 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗗 The Double Diamond is a design thinking approach with two diamonds: 1. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲: The first diamond represents the problem side. 2. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲: The second diamond represents the solution side. That right there helps. I had a manager early on at Microsoft that would run up and tell me I had to solve Y. But Y was a solution. I didn't even know what the problem was yet. Neither did he. Now when somebody brings me a "problem" to solve, I ask them: "Are we on the problem side or the solution side?" 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗗𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 + 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 The second aspect of the Double Diamond that I find useful is diverging and converging. When you are brainstorming and expanding you are diverging. You are diverging when you brainstorm the problem or the solution. When you are narrowing or contracting the range of options, you are converging. You are converging when you narrow the problem and narrow the solution. Now when someone brings me a "problem" to solve, I ask them: "Are we exploring the solution, or did you already have one in mind?" "Are we exploring the problem, or are you already set on the problem?" 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗠 𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘, 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚? It sounds simple, yet years at Microsoft taught me that even smart people can fall for traps. With the Double Diamond in mind, you have a simple approach to remind you to: 1.  𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 2.  𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 With the Double Diamond, you can quickly visually check: 1. 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚? 2. 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜? Sometimes all it takes is a quick check to remember where you are in the process. 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗚𝗘 Even better, the Double Diamond gives you a way to orient teams. It's rare to find everyone on the same page when it comes to solving problems. Some people are brainstorming the solution. Some are exploring the problem. Some are diverging, while others are converging. But if you use the Double Diamond you can at least check in and get people on the same page. This is where having a simple process can shine. #innovation #leadership #creativity