Here’s another way to think about how to reframe a problem.

Imagine you’re having a conversation with a friend about a challenge they’re facing at work. You try to listen closely as they describe the situation, why it’s frustrating, and the stress it’s causing them.

After a couple of minutes, they stop sharing and ask, “What do you think I should do?”

Your default approach might be to immediately go into solution mode—giving advice or even trying to “fix” the problem for them. After all, the solution seems so obvious from your perspective. And they asked for your advice, right?

True. But your advice would be based on a very limited understanding of what’s actually going on. Even if you’re an excellent listener, it’s unlikely that you understand the relevant details of the problem well enough to provide any real answers.

The reason is simple. Your friend doesn’t even fully understand all the relevant details of the problem. They only know the bits and pieces of their story that happen to be most obvious, relevant, and top-of-mind in the moment.

And since your friend’s perspective about the problem is limited, whatever advice and solutions you offer are going to be limited as well.

Now imagine the same conversation, but instead of jumping in with advice, your only intention was to remain curious. To listen, learn, and understand the problem as deeply as you reasonably can.

You let go of the need to give the right answers, and instead focus on asking good questions. Not advice disguised as questions, like “Have you thought about doing XYZ?” But the kinds of questions that help your friend see their problem from different angles.

By simply exploring the problem more deeply and from multiple perspectives, they may suddenly have an “aha!” moment. A flash of insight where the right solution becomes obvious.

Reframing problems works the same way. It’s a conversation—with yourself or with others—where your authentic curiosity about the problem drives you to ask better questions rather than just try to come up with the fastest answer.

What will you do today to approach problem solving more like a conversation, and less like a quick fix?

Will you slow down and get more curious about the nuances of your challenge?