The Power of One Simple Question: Why?

In our years of life, we’ve asked the question “why?” millions of times. Why do humans ask why? Do we understand it helps us to learn? If we observe young children, we understand the answer to be a resounding YES. We ask “why?” to discover something new, make meaning of what is in front of us, understand cause and effect, and we learn. We are curious creatures, and we have an insatiable need to know.

When young children ask “why?” repeatedly, they are trying to understand and learn. Why is the sky blue? Why do I have to share my toys? Why is toast different than bread? Sometimes, as adults, we find those questions to be exhausting, but we answer them because we know the child is learning something new.

Asking and answering why helps us in our work.

First, asking “why?” can help us understand the purpose of our work and everything we do. It is essential for leaders to align teams to define their purpose. When we understand this purpose, we understand the reason (the “why”) behind the design of our work to achieve our intended outcomes for our customers. How would you define the purpose of your work? What does the outcome look like for your customer?

I observed a discussion in which leaders were talking about their team huddles. One person thought the huddle itself was great. A second leader felt it was the purpose of their team huddle that makes it so powerful. When people understand the purpose of the huddle to be a daily forum to hear the voice of the frontline staff, to bring forward concerns about their work related to safety, quality, and efficiency, and their ideas for improving the work, the staff and leaders can rally around, look forward to, and bring their best ideas for continuous improvement.

The next time you’re doing something at work, ask yourself “why?” Do you understand the purpose of what you’re trying to accomplish? If not, seek clarity. It can be helpful.

Second, when we have protocols or standard work to follow for a task, how sure are we about why we must follow the standard work (purpose)? Why are the steps sequenced the way they are? Are we clear about the purpose (the why) of each step? Do these steps lead us to an expected outcome of our work? When that understanding is not clear to workers, we often find situations of variation in the work resulting in different outcomes; some may be good outcomes and some poor outcomes for our customers. How can we be sure that we and the people we lead have a clear understanding of the “why” behind each of their tasks?

What does each step accomplish for our customers? What does each step contribute to the overall outcome? What happens if we miss that step?

Third, clarity of purpose and expected outcomes is crucial for a leader’s role and their own standard work. Is the leader showing up to solve problems for the team, or are they there to coach the team through problems that are occurring without taking away ownership? Understanding why their role exists can make the difference between a leadership style which engages and develops people, encouraging collaboration, and one which is based on command and control.

Fourth, understanding why in terms of the root cause of a problem is essential in problem-solving to help people to know they are solving the correct problem. People in every industry and in our daily lives spend a huge amount of time solving problems and improving the situation. How often are we sure we have reached the root cause (the “why” the problem occurred)?

If we know the actual root cause of the problem, we can solve it by making a change to the work or environment to prevent it from ever occurring again. As we observe people’s problem-solving, we often find they’re caring for a person who might be injured or harmed, and do incredible work of containing problems, but often don’t have the capacity or capability to solve the problems to their actual root causes. This results in continuous firefighting or problems.

I recently observed a huddle. A team member not only identified a problem with the equipment she was using, but in the same sentence, she identified the root cause of the problem. The manager was thrilled. She now knows what to do to solve that problem. She said if the team member hadn’t identified the problem and the root cause, she might not have known about it for weeks and may not have solved it in the right way. Understanding the root cause of problems often doesn’t take a lot of extra effort, and identifying the root cause is a gift because it helps people to arrive at an appropriate solution.

The simple “5-why” technique (asking the question why five times), when done correctly, may be the most powerful scientific method thinking tool to solve problems. When doing it correctly, we first state the problem and ask the question “why did that happen?” We understand the answer and then ask, “why did that happen?” until we can’t ask why anymore because we are at the actual root cause. The 5-why’s are sequentially linked questions from one answer to the next, just like a five-year-old would ask.

In the workplace, we can get to a root cause when we identify a system vulnerability: something wrong with our process design. We never stop at a root cause that indicates a person is at fault.

I have 20+ years of experience asking the 5 whys in which the system has never failed me in being the vulnerability that allows a person to be unsuccessful. This is especially evident when the problem relates to harm.

About 18 years ago, I fell and broke my hand. When I was lying on the ground, it was evident to me I was clumsy or accident-prone, and I was paying for it dearly.

It would have been so easy to leave it at that. After getting my hand X-rayed and taken care of at the local hospital, that evening I reflected on what happened. I applied the 5 whys to my own incident to see if I could prevent this from happening again. It went like this:

I fell and broke my hand.

Why did I fall and break my hand?

I tripped on the sidewalk.

Why did I trip on the sidewalk?

My foot caught a raised part of the sidewalk.

(And this may have been where most people would stop. My dad helped repair the sidewalk. However, I kept asking why because I had walked on that sidewalk for years and never had a problem.) I continued with my questioning:

Why did my foot catch the raised part of the sidewalk?

Because I couldn't see the raised part of the sidewalk.

Why couldn't I see the raised part of the sidewalk?

Because my hands were full and I couldn't see where I was walking.

Why were my hands full?

Root Cause: I was carrying a salad in front of me and my tote computer bag on my forearm like I always do, and I could not see the area in front of me.

I realized I always carry my computer bag like that, and it's always blocking my vision. Since that day in 2007, I have used a backpack for my computer. I travel a lot for work, so I carry it through airports and to clients. I also make sure when I carry other things I can see right in front of me. It has become a habit for me. I've sustained that behavior change for 18 years.

What are examples of your own behavior changes you’ve made because of root cause problem-solving?

If you're wondering if using the “5 whys?” could be helpful to you, just try it. At work, engage your team in asking “why?” until you understand the system root cause of the problem. Follow the lead of five-year-olds who are “whys” beyond their years.