Strong issue framing

🎤 When the loudest voice wins instead of the best idea… time for a new approach. 🎤

Monday’s 2 Minute Tip was about influencing decisions you don’t have control over. In it, I said Problem Recognition, the first step, is where you can have the most influence – by helping shape the conversation.

Here are some reframing phrases you can use to focus the deciders on what you want:

To sharpen a vague problem

• “The real issue isn’t X, it’s that Y..”

• “We might be treating the symptom. The underlying issue looks like ___ .”

To shift from blaming to fixing

• “This isn’t a people problem, it’s a clarity problem.”

• “I don’t think it’s capability. I think it’s alignment.”

To move from activity to impact

• “The challenge isn’t that we’re doing too much. It’s that we’re not getting consistent results.”

• “It’s not a workload issue. It’s a prioritization issue.”

To elevate to business outcomes

• “This is less about process and more about how it’s affecting ___ (retention, speed, quality, etc.).”

• “The risk here isn’t inconvenience, it’s impact on ___.”

To make it actionable

• “The gap I’m seeing is that managers don’t have a shared way to ___.”

• “What’s missing is a consistent approach to ___ across the organization.”

To open thinking (without triggering defensiveness)

• “Can we step back and make sure we’re solving the right problem?”

• “Before we jump to solutions, how would we define success here?”

Strong issue framing does two things at once: It both narrows the problem and points to a solution (yours).

✅ Put the 2 Minute Tip into action…Become More Influential & Build A Culture Of Open Communication in our supportive online community ✅