KNOW YOUR WHY AND UNDERSTAND IT'S IMPORTANCE
“WHY” and it’s controversy
Lately, I have read books and listened to a few Podcasts talking about the “WHY” and how to know your “WHY”. Some argued that it is the most important question to ask and others argued that is the question to avoid. Who is right? Who is wrong?
No one. It depends on the perspective and the reason you ask the “WHY”. The more I dug into it, the better sense I had and better clarity on when and how to use it. With my analytical brain, I came to the conclusion that there are basically two situations where we use the “WHY”.
One is directed to have more clarity about who we are and the reason why we decided to do what we are doing in our life (purpose). I call it the STRATEGIC “WHY”. The other one is to find out why something didn’t work out. I call it the TACTICAL “WHY”.
The strategic “WHY”
The strategic “WHY” is very important if you really want to understand the reason behind who you are and what you do. It is the basic question that leads to finding out your purpose in life. Let’s take two short examples of the STRATEGIC “WHY” to define WHO you are and WHAT you do.
Who...
Let’s say you want to become a special education teacher. Asking the “WHY” will give you clarity about who you want to be. Why do you want to be a special education teacher? If the answer is for the salary, the benefits working for a school, or the status, you may want to reconsider your choice.
If on the contrary, your choice is motivated because you want to serve, you want to inspire and help genuinely the students with special needs, this is what makes your heart come on fire, well, you will know not only that you are on the right track, but it will give you the real purpose behind the choice, YOUR WHY.
What...
Let’s say you want to be an entrepreneur and start your own company. Asking the “WHY” will give you the real answer. If it is to make money, to brag that you have your own business or to prove to others that you are better, you might rethink your choice. If the answer is because you want to provide a service or a product that can solve a problem in the world, or you want to be independent in order to be free to create.
This “WHY is probably a much higher and better “WHY”. Strategic “WHY” answers the questions of WHO you are or want to become and WHAT reason motivates you to pursue your dream. Think about the PURPOSE behind it.
The tactical “WHY”
The tactical “WHY” is the one we should use with caution. Too many times we use it for the wrong reason. It is an easy question to have a “quick and dirty” answer. Why “quick and dirty”? It often leads to an answer starting with “because” and followed by a more defensive statement frequently based on excuses instead of facts.
The better questions would start with a “WHEN”, a “WHAT”, a “WHERE” or a “HOW”. Let me explain through another example. Let’s say you have a program manager (PM) who didn’t deliver a project on time. If you come to him and ask: “WHY is this project not finished on time?” This question will put the PM in a defensive position. He might argue that some people in the team were late and that it wasn’t entirely his fault if the project was not finished on time.
Not only it is a defensive answer based on an excuse, but you still don’t really know the reason “WHY”, you don’t have an answer to improve this situation.
If you start with other questions that are based on facts, time and location, it will both help to improve and end-up with a win-win situation. In our example, we could ask: WHEN did you notice that we might have delay? WHAT causes the delay?
WHERE is the point that created a snowball effect that led to the delay? All those questions are based on facts and do not put the PM in a defensive situation. They are objective and constructive. Then, asking the “HOW” question will lead you to a win-win situation. HOW can it be better next time? HOW can we avoid delay next time? How do you think we can perform better?... Can you feel and sense the difference?
Next time you face a similar situation, ask the right questions that really pinpoint the facts and think about looking forward in the future with the “HOW” question. Don’t stay fixated and stuck in the past situation; it won’t change and make any difference. But what you do now and how you look forward will make the difference.
... and the “WHY NOT”
I love this one in a sense that it is not in any of the two situations mentioned before. It is more a question I use when people are not supportive around me or I use it to trigger a challenge for them. I want the person to reflect and seek other options.
The key is to leave the person with the question and not get an answer, or at least not an answer right away. Next time you need to understand the “WHY”, ask yourself if it is a “STRATEGIC WHY” or a “TACTICAL WHY”. Use the right question to get the right answer. Both situations should always lead to a forward-looking answer with a solution that brings growth, improvement and greater result.
P.S. Hey guys, Hubert here!
Do me a favor, would you? If you liked this blog, would you share it with somebody that might like it?
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That would mean the world to me. My only humble desire is to serve you better.
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