Do you want incredibly productive staff?
When my oldest son, Elijah, was three he loved to have us draw pictures for him.
One day, he ran up to me with paper and a marker. “Draw, Daddy!” Usually, he’s specific about what he wants me to draw: A snake, a spider, a duck. This time he didn’t seem to care what I drew. He yanked the paper away from me just after I made the first marks.
He was three. I didn’t think too much about it. Then he ran back to me with another blank piece of paper and said, “Draw, Daddy!”
I started to draw another animal. As soon as I started, he said, “Thank you!” Then he jerked the paper away and ran off.
This repeated five or six times. Finally, I asked him what he was doing.
“I’m recycling!”
Sure enough, he had found a cardboard box somewhere and was conscientiously filling it with newly used paper.
Then it dawned on me. They were teaching about recycling at his daycare. He had learned but was missing the bigger picture.
I thought it was cute.
Then I pondered what the right parental response was.
As I pondered, he finally reached a point of enough paper in the box. He took the papers out of the box and arranged them on the floor.
“Play with me, Daddy!” I finally got it. They used recycled paper for games in their classroom.
What he wanted was to play a game. He needed recycled paper for the game. He created the recycled paper.
My fatherly heart burst with pride that he had planned out that little project.
The one question: Why?
People want to know the why. This is not just a Millennial thing.
However, most leaders mistakenly focus on the what.Without knowing why people develop their own rationales. Most often, they will arrive at the wrong conclusion. This is not their fault.
Time invested in explaining the reasons behind a task or policy helps others apply the whatmore judiciously. They need less of our input and oversight. This frees up our time.
Robert Cialdini, of Arizona State University, and the author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion has demonstrated that explaining why is a powerful tool for impacting behavior.
He conducted studies that illustrate this. For example, Student researchers would ask to cut into a line of people waiting to make copies. When they asked, “Can I cut in line?” they were most often refused. However, if they said, “Can I cut in line? I’m in a hurry.” They were frequently allowed to cut in. They provided the why.
Values: The heart of the why
Values in an organization often stop short of becoming the powerful and motivating tool it could be.
This is because most consultants, HR teams and marketing departments know the what of planning. (“We should do a Values Exercise….”) but they also don’t know the purpose.
Mission statements should describe the best ways an organization can manifest its values.
If used well, asking why is an extraordinarily powerful tool for focusing on leadership, filtering priorities and improving decision making.
Whyscan change—and need to be re-examined
There is a story about a young mother learning to cook the Christmas ham.
Her young daughter asks her why she cuts the ends off each side of the ham. The young mother replies, “It makes it taste better! Your grandma makes the best ham ever and this is how she always made it.”
The young girl didn’t find this to be persuasive. She went and asked her grandmother. Grandma answered, “I don’t know, it’s just how my mother always used to make ham. I never thought to ask.”
The girl finally went to her great-grandmother and asked about the ham. “Oh my!” Exclaimed her great-grandmother. “Back in those days our oven was so small, we couldn’t fit a whole ham into it. I had to cut the ends off just to get it in the oven!”
The great-grandmother had a practical why.It was the only way to cook the ham.
However, her daughter and grandmother had a different why. They thought you needed to cut the ends off to cook a good ham.
But their why no longer makes good sense.
When everyone understands why they make better decisions
When our staff understands the whybehind certain policies or practices, they can exercise better discretion when faced with new situations.
It is not uncommon to find staff resolutely doing what they were trained to do. Even when it is counterproductive.
Management should never fault staff for trying to figure out the reasons behind a task.We also shouldn’t blame them if we’ve trained them to stop wondering or asking.
Your turn
What is one strategic area where explaining the purpose will help create greater alignment and focus on your team or organization?
What is one policy or procedure where your staff would be better served if they understood the why behind it?
Is there anything you are doing, and you don’t know why?What are you going to do about that?
Photo source: istock
 | Christian Muntean is a seasoned expert in fostering business growth and profitability. With a Master's degree in Organizational Leadership and certifications as a Master Coach, Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), and International Mergers & Acquisitions Expert (IM&A), he guides entrepreneurial leaders through growth, succession planning, and exit strategies. He is an accomplished author of three books, including Train to Lead. Christian resides in Anchorage, Alaska, with his family. Learn More » |
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