Facts don't by themselves cause crises. It is our emotional responses to them that can spin a situation into a panic.
A crucial aspect of any problem solving is to acknowledge and work with the emotional aspects (in additional to the hard facts.)
Exploring and understanding feelings can help us to gain a different set of insights into the problem. When a project is held up by a protracted series of “factual” queries, the reality may be that some emotional issue is not being articulated and dealt with. Just like we rationally justify emotive decisions, we can also use rational-sounding reasons to hide our emotional distress.
Working with the feelings also help to increase empowerment and buy-in. It is amazing how much positive change we can creates by simply investing the time and attention into making sure everyone feels heard, even when nothing factual have changed.
The combination of working with both facts and feelings enables us to tackle problems more effectively.
