Why… three letters which are utterly simplistic and valuable though often not communicated in the business world. When questioning clients or tasking employees, the “why” is often dismissed by those seeking information or giving directives. This can be a result of the individual in charge subconsciously soliciting results in a premeditated manner without feedback or variation from the other parties involved.
Many can recall instances where they have been charged with completing something without understanding the objective only to find out that later that given the chance, the results could have been achieved much easier.
When the “why” is omitted the tasked individuals will execute by either completing the said task or question the director of the scenario until he or she is satisfied with the answer. The issue of the omitting leaves much to the imagination including; the urgency of the task, the level of importance, the repercussions of inaccuracies, level of detail required and a potential missed opportunity to solicit a different viewpoint which could amount to a level of execution not previously perceived.
Some will say that communicating the “why” at each instance where they question or task will take too much time. The question that must be posed is “At what expense?” Do individuals skip an opportunity to motivate others at the risk of adding what could amount to ten minutes to their daily schedules? Do they fail to acknowledge the intellectual resources available to build a better mouse trap?
Communicating the “why” may seem simple…and it is. But just as everything else that breeds success, it must be intentionally woven into the culture of the organization by setting the expectation with the entire workforce. This must start at the front line and continue to the presidency of the organization. Proper expectations will serve as a guide leaving employees anticipating a full understanding of the workload before them along with empowering employees to develop another method of completion.
Following the development of the expectation of the “why,” the employees must hold themselves accountable for the application. Just as a follow-up is conducted at regular intervals to ensure that performance is on track, regular follow-up from different levels of employees within the organization must exist to ensure that the proper communication is taking place rather than conducting the behavior to satisfy the commitment or skipping explanations for the sake of time.
The introduction and use of “why” within an organization will yield a workforce who are motivated by a clear understanding of objectives and are now given the opportunity to contribute to the team’s success.
At Cogent Analytics, we never stop looking for ways to improve your business and neither should you. So, check out some of our other posts for helpful business information:
