Quick Question: Why are we doing this?
Quick Question
Here is today's quick question for you...Why are we doing this?
Ask it when you're...
Starting something - if you’re kicking off a new company, team or project, asking everyone for their ‘why’ helps to solidify your collective purpose
Hearing or sensing some tension between team members - when there are tough decisions to make and different views about the ‘right’ answer, anchoring everyone back to the ‘why’ helps to unify the efforts
Observing divergence across a program of work—if you can see work streams moving quickly in different directions, asking the question creates a moment to pause and limit the team's potential drift away from priorities.
Listen for...
As leaders, one of our most important jobs is setting the context for our people. It’s easy to assume, ‘I’ve told them why. They get it. I need to move on to the next thing.’
The trouble is, once your team is deep into complex, fast work, they easily lose sight of why they are doing it. The risk of losing sight is wasted time and money spent delivering the wrong thing.
Try to listen for:
Different versions of the same story coming from your team members
A higher-than-expected number of escalated decisions
Uncharacteristic finger-pointing and blame-shifting
If you hear any of these, asking, “Why are we doing this?” can help everyone reorient to your purpose.
Follow up with...
Sometimes, the greatest value comes from the one extra question you take the time to ask.
In this situation, you could try…
Why is this important to you? or
When have you felt most uncomfortable? or
What led to the decision to do x?
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