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Problem-Solving Skills for Team Members and Leaders (Udemy.com)

Problem Solving Is The Core Activity of Continuous Improvement that Every Team Member Should Know

Created by: Lawrence M. Miller

Last updated December 2025

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What you will learn

  • You will develop the attitudes and habits of team problem-solving that produce performance improvement.
  • You will learn three models of problem-solving associated with Toyota Production System or "lean management."
  • You will learn and apply a simple and direct approach to root cause analysis and situation analysis.
  • You will develop and practice the skills of brainstorming and consensus reaching.
  • You will practice a simple and effective model of action planning and follow through that is critical to achieving results.

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Course Description

Your personal success depends on your ability to lead teams! High performing team leaders are promoted and are successful entrepreneurs. Leading teams is the critical competence for leaders at all levels today. And, problem-solving is the basic methodology that drives improvement by teams and lean organizations. This short course provides the basic skills and philosophy of effective problem solving. It is based on 45 years of experience developing teams and implementing lean management or Toyota Production System. I recommend that you go through the course with your team so that you can together practice each of the methods in your real work setting. This is not an “academic” course, but rather it is based on working in manufacturing, healthcare and other industries with hundreds of teams tackling real world problem and engaging in continuous improvement.

Toyota Production System, or lean management and culture, are based on the practice of continuous improvement through problem solving. This lectures reviews the basic principles of lean that apply to problem solving.

The principles of lean that are important to how we solve problems include the following:

  • Respect for People

  • Continuous Improvement

  • Going to Where the Work Get's Done - the Gemba

  • Know the Facts - Graphing the Data and Understanding Trends

  • Applying the Scientific Method of Experimentation

The course covers the following:

The Lean philosophy of problem-solving and continuous improvement.

Healthy attitudes toward problem solving.

Simple situation analysis.

Root cause analysis - the "five why's?"

Brainstorming causes of problems.

The PDCA problem solving model.

The A3 problem solving model.

The skill of brainstorming.

Pareto or the 80/20 rule.

Action-Planning and follow-up


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Instructor Details

Lawrence M. Miller

Larry Miller is now teaching eighteen courses with more than 400,000 students in 210 countries on Udemy.  He is the author of eleven books, and has more than forty years of experience consulting with major corporations on their business performance, culture and management systems. Several of his courses on management and leadership are best selling courses in their category and have been adopted by major corporations as part of their leadership development and lean culture implementation process.

His expertise is derived from hands on experience creating change in the culture of more than a hundred organizations. Among his consulting clients have been Honda, Corning, Shell Oil Company, Amoco and Texaco,  Air Canada,  Eastman Chemicals, Xerox, Harris Corporation,  Chick-fil-A, Merck and Upjohn Pharmaceuticals, United Technologies, Metropolitan Life and Landmark Communications.

He began his work in youth prisons after recognizing that the learning system in the organization had exactly the opposite of its intended effect – increasing, rather than decreasing, dysfunctional behavior. For four years he worked to redesign the prison system by establishing the first free- economy behind prison walls, where each inmate had to earn points, maintain a checking account, pay rent and pay for everything he desired. It resulted in measurable improvements in behavior. This was his first organizational transformation.

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Reviews

4.5

20,586 ratings on Udemy

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By Nasreen Ali on 8/28/2026

yes it is, I like it his lecture and it can help any company management follow by his lecture problem-solving is the basic methodology , skills and philosophy of effective problem solving.

By Martín do Río Rico on 8/25/2026

The content is solid, though at times it may lean a bit too much on anecdotal examples. That said, the lessons it draws and the practical applications it offers are especially valuable.

By Gina Langley on 8/21/2026

Course Review: Problem-Solving Skills for Team Members and Leaders Instructor: Lawrence M. Miller, Institute for Leadership Excellence LLC This course provides a clear, structured approach to building practical problem‑solving skills for both team members and leaders. Lawrence M. Miller delivers the content with a thoughtful blend of theory, examples, and actionable frameworks that make the material easy to understand and immediately applicable in day‑to‑day work. Key strengths include: • A strong emphasis on collaboration and team-based problem analysis. • Practical tools for identifying root causes and selecting effective solutions. • Realistic scenarios that help reinforce each concept. • A teaching style that is calm, organized, and focused on developing long-term capability. Overall, the course is well-designed, accessible, and valuable for anyone wanting to improve how they approach challenges, make decisions, and guide teams through solving complex issues. I would recommend it to both emerging leaders and experienced professionals looking to refine their problem‑solving toolkit.

By Zayana Al Jabri on 8/16/2026

I really enjoyed this course and learned a lot from it. One of the most valuable parts for me was learning how to better understand human behavior, motivation, and the reasons behind people's actions. The course helped me look at problems from a different perspective instead of immediately focusing only on the problem itself. I learned that understanding people and the environment around them can be very important when trying to identify the real cause of a problem. The explanations were practical and easy to understand, and I found many of the concepts useful not only in the workplace but also in everyday life and communication with others. Overall, this was a very useful learning experience. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to improve their problem-solving skills, understand human behavior better, and develop a better approach to dealing with people and situations.

By Gordon Hanna on 7/14/2026

Very useful course! I appreciated the mix of problem solving theory, real life examples, and practical applications he suggests. I was able to change the way I see problems and start asking the right questions in order to solve them.

By Rajiv Venkataraman on 6/9/2026

I tried out most of the techniques taught by Mr. Miller in this course. It has been helpful. I wish I had known about the Practical Applications to Change Individual behavior earlier. I had a similar situation in the past and I wish that situation could have been handled better if I had exposure to this content earlier.

By Justine Brenner on 6/2/2026

Funny, well-spoken and engaging. I can tell just from what I've seen so far that Larry knows a lot about this topic and I am excited to learn more from him.

By Daniel Castellanos on 4/9/2026

This course does relate to my job somewhat. A lot of my job is doing and making decisions on my own. But for larger scenes and scenarios it is important that I know teamwork and problem solving skills

By Jeremy Esh on 3/25/2026

Feels mostly directed towards sales, but I can see where it could be applicable in what I do, to an extent.

By Sophia Pace on 2/13/2026

To explain that this basic course opened my eyes to how much appreciation and just saying "Thank You" is missing from my team. Appreciation messages are given but at the organizational level on TEAMS vs. just a normal everyday feedback.

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Overall Score : 90 / 100