Ask The 5 Whys | Accelerate Success with Lorraine Moore

Responding to “why” can be powerful, particularly when you are in a situation that is emotionally charged. I have been in multiple situations recently where asking “why” has been necessary. While my clients were trying to solve a business issue, I suggested to them that they ask themselves, “why.” This is equally effective for uncovering the root causes of guilt, frustration, disappointment, or anger, or when we are seeking greater clarity.

In the 1950s, Toyota created The 5 Whys, that were later adopted as part of the Six Sigmamethodology. It’s not the first response to the first why that holds the power. It is the subsequent whys.

Consider this example using The 5 Whys to get to the root cause of turnover:

“Why are we experiencing an increase in turnover?” We are losing people in middle management roles, senior managers and directors.
“Why are they leaving?” Our competitors are offering them greater work-life balance and a clear path of career progression.
“Why do our staff think they cannot achieve a work-life balance here and/or career progression?” They believe they can progress in their career but we place a great deal of demands on them to work long hours and to travel.
“Why do we place greater demands on them than our competitors or other firms?” Our demands are not consistent with that of our competitors. We are asking them to work nights and weekends during busy season and do not provide offsetting time off during the quieter times.
“Why do we not balance out the work expectations?” We need to change the expectations of the partners who believe that part of proving oneself is to demonstrate undying commitment to the firm and to working long hours. If we can influence that mindset to understand that staff will no longer accept these demands, we can retain more of our best people.

Asking The 5 Whys in a business situation can ensure that you or your team are unlocking the correct underlying factors. With this, you can take action on that which are causal factors rather than simply influencing factors.

Here is another example:

“Why am I over committing myself?” (in general, on this volunteer board, to this leadership role, in this situation, etc.) Because I don’t want to let anyone down.
“Why am I concerned about letting people down?” They are really great people and they are all contributing a lot and this is a good cause.
“Why do I believe that I have to contribute a great deal of time to make a valuable contribution?” I am new to the board/this role/as a parent and I feel I need to contribute more.
“Why do I feel the need to contribute more than others?” Because someone once told me that I always needed to arrive earlier, work harder and stay longer than anyone else to prove myself. That has stuck with me.
“Why do I believe this belief has stayed with me?” Because I get frustrated with people who ride on others’ coattails. I can make a significant contribution by preparing for and attending board meetings consistently and by actively contributing to the discussion.

As you get deeper in your series of whys, you will often discover you are holding beliefs that may not be true (about yourself or others). Or you will discover that you are emotional about a situation because someone’s behaviour is unaligned to your value system.

Whatever you discover, it typically provides you with more keys to unlocking the root cause and then you can address what you really want or need to change, if anything. Sometimes nothing needs to change, but the new insights you gain may help you identify situations in which you are being too hard on yourself or in which you need to make a change.

My clients accelerate their results – increasing profitability, leadership performance, innovation, and accountability. I would love to discuss how I might help you and your executive team engage The 5 Whys in your business. Contact me today.

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