Asking ‘why’ helps peel back the layer of excuses that stop people from achieving goals. File
By CANUTE WASWA
In Summary
Asking the powerful question “why?” forces people to think deeply.
There is a story about a little girl who was watching
her mother cook fish. The mother cut off the fish’s head and tail
before throwing it in a frying pan.
The little girl wanted to know why her mother did that. The mother replied, “I don’t know, that’s how my mom taught me.”
So the little girl went to her grandmother and
asked her why she cut off the fish’s head and tail before she cooked it.
The grandmother replied, “I don’t really know, it’s how my mother
always did it.”
Even more curious now, the little girl went and
asked her great-grandmother why she did this. The great-grandmother
thought for a moment and said, “I did that because I didn’t have a
frying pan big enough to fit the fish with the head and the tail still
attached, so I cut them off.”
There was no good reason the mother and grandmother
cut the fish’s head and tail every time, but because they had never
questioned the process, they never thought to change it, or if changing
it would make it better.
Let us now come to Kenya Police. The Police during
the colonial era were not necessarily to keep law and order for the
State, but to subdue the natives and ease the passage of the
colonialists in their bid to exploit the colony.
To do this, they recruited hefty people from the so
called “warrior tribes” who were physically endowed and could be called
upon to intimidate and crush those who were “big headed”. They would be
useful in running after thieves and visiting violence on the natives to
instil fear.
Unfortunately, that has not changed. The recruiters
still ask whether you have all your teeth and can close one eye. They
also insist that you must be tall and able to run.
All this, yet many serious crimes thrive on the use
of Internet courtesy of information and communication technology. These
include identity theft, human trafficking, terrorism and money
laundering. A policeman who can run faster than Usain Bolt but is not
financial and tech savvy is useless for the purposes of crime detection
and prevention.
Similarly, if a police force is not equipped with
proper forensic and other scientific investigative technology, or is not
managed by well trained, qualified and motivated staff, it will remain a
pedestrian outfit whose only capacity is running after demonstrators,
robbers and petty criminals. Unfortunately, that is where our police
service finds itself, unable to investigate and prosecute suspects of
crimes like rape and defilement by using DNA.
This scenario plays out all the time in companies.
Not asking “why” keeps employees from doing the necessary brainwork
required to improve at work. The results are answers that amount to
fluff. Problems aren’t identified and the proper corrective actions are
not developed.
Asking the powerful question “why” forces people to
think deeply. They can then peel back the layers of excuses and get to
the root cause of the problem. For example, if employees have failed to
meet a goal and are asked “why” questions rather than “what” or “how”,
they might give responses like, “I didn’t prioritise my time”.
So, the boss must then go farther and ask, “Why
didn’t you prioritise your time?” When the employees say they have too
much on their plate, the boss, once again, must ask, “Why?” With the
real problem revealed, the boss can now take appropriate action, perhaps
setting up time to help them prioritise their many tasks.
Think back to your favourite teacher, someone who
made a difference in your life. Did he or she give you all the answers?
No. Did he or she make you look for the answers? Yes. Did this teacher
hold you accountable? Absolutely. These are the ways great leaders help
people learn, cultivate the potential of those around them and enable
growth.
Most good leaders and good teams are constantly
asking, “Why is that process the way it is? Why are we getting those
results? Why did we succeed? Why did we fail? Why did sales go up? Why
did sales go down? Why is the market changing
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