How many in positions of responsibility confront a problem that was not of their making? It’s a rhetorical question, but something many of us have asked ourselves at least once in our life. In most cases it’s expedient to shift responsibility to another, and while this is tolerable up to a point, the mistake we also make is to continue 'admiring' the problem.

Across Defence there are examples of failure to decisively act and take proper ownership of a problem, and confront systemic issues resulting not just in impact to materiel but also our people as well as leaving gaps in our capability. Inevitably, in some situations, the convenient act of holding someone to account cannot be laid at the feet of just one individual.

Owning a problem does not have to be a scary proposition. However, to do nothing, when empowered to do otherwise, does not mean the problem will go away. It will continue to depreciate over time. Now more than ever, across Defence, individuals have access to pathways to report systemic issues. Ironically, the creation of most of these pathways are the result of a failure to recognise there was an issue in the first place.

Owning a problem, inherited or discovered, will come with its own unique attributes. Owning the problem will mean breaking it down and taking it back to its basic elements. It will take effort. In some cases, you cannot give a timeline. Only inevitability, the quality of being certain it will happen will be a common theme.

A manifest problem will depend on the situation. This can be a physical setting where everything appears normal. This could be as simple as a daily routine, governed by a process, which on face value makes perfect sense but soon takes on a more arcane form. At some point you realise that the problem may be the procedure itself. The solution is to adopt a new procedure.

The net result is that in identifying the problem you enacted change. Big or small, the ability to fix a problem that is within your power to do so can be profound. It is also naturally transferrable to other people who may have to assist you because they have a necessary skillset that you may not have.

But let’s put this into context of reality. While my circumstances were unique compared to others in my organisation, I had no immediate concerns about my responsibilities and thought I understood what had to be done. Even though I had received what I thought was a reasonable handover it would be several months before I fully appreciated the banality that obfuscated the broader issues that appealed more to a sense of how things were always done.

As well as arcane routines that would have benefited from some imagination but instead had become increasingly unhealthy over time, I also discovered how isolated I was despite being in the very heart of the headquarters. I was forced to re-establish relationships and rebuild confidence with my command chain that simply did not exist.

At first, I blamed my predecessor, because it was easy to do so. I felt alone and my personal wellbeing suffered as a direct result. I was grateful to inherit an excellent assistant who knew a great deal, but like me had also been let down by the situation where everyday conventionality was difficult to eliminate because in the beginning I was so reliant upon him.

In the end it simply came down consciously accepting responsibility and taking ownership of the problem. It was easy to criticise perceived failures on the part of others, but that wasn’t going to improve the situation. There may have been reasons for why circumstances were as they were that I was not aware of. Instead, I focused all critique on myself. My objective was to make sure that whoever took over from me would inherit a better state than I found it.

To solve a problem, you must first own the problem, but some may be too big to fix alone. That is where the importance of a team, no matter how big or small, completes the equation. The greatest asset at your disposal are other people. Whether it’s one person, or many – how you own a problem will have a lasting impression on them.