Have you heard this one? “We never have time to to do it right, but we have time to fix it over and over again”. There are a multitude of clichés that tell us to take our time and understand before we lead, yet we continue to make the same short-sighted mistakes:
As leaders, we spend too little time truly understanding problems before we launch forward, guns blazing, solving the challenges of the day. As a result, we end up solving the wrong problems, or we only solve part of the problem. Worse yet, sometimes we don’t solve the problem at all and it comes bounding back to our doorstep bringing all of its friends and relatives!
So if we know these things to be true, why do we keep skipping the step that will end this cycle? Personally, I have my own list of excuses. Those in leadership positions know what I mean! Lack of time and resources, an already long list of fires to put out…sometimes a band-aid over a bullet hole seems like our only option and we’d rather “fix” a problem than leave our team out in the cold.
When someone presents a problem to me, it feels like a big, juicy worm on the end of a hook and I take the bait every time. It feels good to think I have the answers; it is expeditious, and I think I understand the problem well enough to be of use. The catch is – if I don’t ask the right questions, I most certainly can’t understand the problem. Of course I can’t solve it without fully understanding it, right?!
Early in my career my mentor shared this impactful quote, “Spend 85% of your time understanding the problem and 15% solving it.” I still find it to be immensely true.
As you can see, the antidote is to stop and get to the bottom of the problem. Who, What, When, Where, How and Why gives a simple construct for asking more questions. NOTE: Asking these one-word questions will probably not be very effective; it will seem abrupt and make people defensive. Instead, use this as a mental framework to help ask well-constructed questions. Let’s take a situation where someone comes into to ask for advice on how to address a performance problem with one of their people. Instead of jumping into the first solution that comes to mind, ask a few questions first. In this case you might ask:
Who – Has anyone else had this experience with this person?
Who – Is there anyone else that is having similar issues?
What – What happened to bring this to light?
What – What have you seen, heard about this situation?
When – When did this start?
Where – Where is this person in meeting your expectations?
How –How did this come be?
How – How did you get here?
Why – Why do you think this happened?
Taking the extra step to understand a problem fully takes just a few short minutes. Consider the positive impact it will have long-term! Recurring instances will be significantly reduced, and that’s your payday. Higher productivity, less stress, and smoother seas. Can you see the leadership value in this strategy?
Until next time,
Doug