Why Organizations Should Embrace a Culture of Asking WHY?

Important lessons can be learned from the curiosity and boldness of small children. I do have three pre-school children and as any parent could attest, this phase is all about answering dozens of questions in a day. One of my daughters’ favorite question which I consider the most difficult to answer is , ‘WHY Mommy?’ Their questions might seem to be silly at first but when I start to ponder on the answer, I find myself thinking a little deeper than what I had expected. Suddenly that simple 3-Letter Word question becomes a more complex question after all. For most instances, answering them would reaffirm my decision and guidance, but there would be times when I would find myself re-evaluating the thoughts and principles behind the guidance and when I do that, it is always a good thing.

Asking Why Sparks Innovation

Often, we tend to do things that we don’t know the purpose and reason for. People in the workplace sometimes do things, routines, protocols, and especially processes but seldom know the reason behind them. When we start to ask the question ‘Why?’, with a pure intention to learn, improve and to help, the magic happens : New ideas emerge, Innovation starts, Problems get solved. 

When we start to ask the question ‘Why?’, with a pure intention to learn, improve and to help, the magic happens : New ideas emerge, Innovation starts, Problems get solved. 

In my first overseas job in Hong Kong as an engineer, I had wondered why we kept on encountering the same issues in one operating country’s sales team’s request for costing. Because I boldly asked the question ‘Why?’, I had discovered the answer which led me to solve that problem for the team by providing a very simple solution: I had implemented simple programming in Excel that minimized the errors on the sales team’s part. The result? Faster time to provide them the solution and costing, less stress and more productivity. I was fortunate of course that my boss at that time was supportive of my innovative ideas but it will not be always the case for most of us. 

For some office cultures, it is not always easy. For companies that do not embrace the culture of asking questions, if you ask why you are doing a very cumbersome paperwork as part of a long process , some might think that you are challenging a 20-year old tradition and thus branded as a know-it-all especially when you are new. Some leaders are not comfortable being asked this question as they feel you are challenging their authority. While you cannot control anyone other than yourself, do remember that when you are faced with these challenges, asking ‘WHY?’ will be more effective if you have the following:

·      Right Timing

·      Proper Delivery

·      Meaningful Context

You just can’t begin jumping from one department to another, eager beaver to ask , Hey IT Manager, ‘Why do your technical people fail to do this this and that?’ If you do that, do not expect a very good outcome. Asking why should be insightful, respectful and done with a pure desire to understand.

Asking Why 7 Times

There was this one time when my engineer and salesperson came from a client meeting telling me that the client wants a certain feature in the product. What he wanted was a bit bizarre so I asked my team, why did he say he wants that feature? The engineer looked at me blankly and said, I don’t know ma’am. When I asked him to get back to the client and ask until he understands the real reason,(he had to ask multiple ‘Why?’’s to get to that) he found out that it was not that feature that he cared about . He just thought that the feature will solve his problem and knowing his real concern allowed us to provide the best solution and service to his company. That instance was a powerful lesson for my engineer and since then, he had been applying the principle of asking why which paved the way for him to be a better engineer. That was an eye opener for me to inculcate and cultivate in my team the desire to ask the right questions.

Start with Why

I encourage all employees to start with yourselves to ask the question ‘Why?’ in the things that you do. It does not need to be big nor “Apple-like” kind of innovation. You can start with the small things that would help you understand yourself, your colleagues, your bosses and the company you are working for. Should you find answers that you feel needs some action, be bold enough to ask ‘Why?’ but back it up with an insightful reason for asking that question.

If you are a salesperson or a technical consultant, ask your clients ‘Why?’ multiple times to understand his or her real issues. This will be the best kind of service you can provide them.

If you are a leader, start a culture of asking ‘Why?’ in your processes, your design and your rules. Who knows, a bright idea could emerge which would help you be on top of your game. As Simon Sinek brilliantly puts it in his book Start With Why:

“Great leaders and great organizations are good at seeing what most of us can’t see. They are good at giving us things we would never think of asking for. Great leaders are those who trust their gut. They are those who understand the art before the science. They win hearts before minds. They are the ones who start with WHY.”

Knowing the answer to our whys' serve as our moral compass in everything that we do and allows us to reach our destination without always losing our way.