Untangle the web of whys
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Hey Reader, One of the most alarming things I experience when working with leaders to help them navigate their people through organizational change is when they can’t answer one question: Why? As in:
How do the leaders answer these questions? Sometimes they stutter themselves into silence. Sometimes they regurgitate some spark of a why from months ago and try to connect the dots to the present day with a series of explanations, exceptions, and excuses. Sometimes they rattle off what sounds like the first draft of a press release, filled with jargon and fluff. These are all questions I have asked leaders in the past. With each question, I’m looking for a clear and concise answer. One that would inform our strategy, enable our program’s success, and make sense to all stakeholders so that they can move along their change journey from awareness to ownership. I went ahead and asked ChatGPT to answer the questions above from the perspective of a Fortune 500 CEOThese sound…pretty damn accurate (as far as what a CEO would say out loud). Why are you trying to double your growth?"Growth drives innovation, attracts top talent, and creates new opportunities for our employees and stakeholders. Doubling growth allows us to remain competitive, expand into untapped markets, and deliver greater value to our shareholders and customers." Why are you adopting this new technology?"Technology is the backbone of innovation and efficiency. By adopting cutting-edge solutions, we’re staying ahead of industry trends, improving operational efficiency, and delivering enhanced experiences for our customers and employees." Why are you conducting a salary equity study?"Equity isn’t just a moral imperative; it’s a business advantage. A salary equity study ensures we’re compensating employees fairly, fostering trust, reducing turnover, and reinforcing our commitment to diversity and inclusion." Why are you asking for customer feedback?"Our customers are the heart of our business. Their insights guide our decision-making, help us refine our offerings, and ensure we’re delivering products and services that truly meet their needs." Why are you hiring a coach for your management team?"Great leadership drives great results. A coach helps our management team sharpen their skills, foster collaboration, and lead with empathy and clarity, ensuring we remain agile and resilient in a fast-changing environment." Why are you launching this new product?"Innovation is the lifeblood of our growth strategy. This new product addresses a pressing market need and reinforces our position as a leader in delivering solutions that improve our customers’ lives." Why are you redesigning your website?"Our website is often the first impression of our brand. By redesigning it, we’re creating a more user-friendly, engaging, and accessible experience that better reflects our vision and serves our customers." Why are you updating your company values?"As we evolve, so must our values. Updating them ensures they reflect who we are today and where we’re headed while anchoring us in the principles that guide our decisions and actions." Why are you trying to reduce your carbon footprint?"Sustainability is essential for our future. By reducing our carbon footprint, we’re not only protecting the environment but also meeting the expectations of our customers, employees, and investors who prioritize responsible corporate behavior." Why are you sharing this employee survey?"Our employees are our greatest asset. Their feedback helps us understand their needs, improve our workplace culture, and ensure we’re creating an environment where they feel valued and empowered." Why does your organization exist?"Our organization exists to make a meaningful impact—solving real problems, creating value for our stakeholders, and leaving the world better than we found it. This purpose guides everything we do, from our strategy to our day-to-day decisions." Okay...and?The backbone of innovation and efficiency? An experience that better reflects our vision? Anchoring us in the principles? Responsible corporate behavior? Make a meaningful impact? A moral imperative?? These aren’t phrases that inform strategy, enable program success, or make sense to all stakeholders. Why do most leaders struggle to really answer why? When I start to dig, I often find that it's because the real answer is not sexy and exciting. They’ve been told – and have come to internalize – that the why must inspire from the start. Innovation! Vision! Impact! But the "best practice" of sharing a why that must "inspire" is the root of a tangled web that wastes resources, muddles strategy, and creates a rocky road for the people side of change. In reality, the why for a change – and even for an organization’s existence – is its purposeI mean the real, dictionary definition of purpose: the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. Literally: why are you doing this? Why is this happening? Why is this changing? Here are some more realistic answers to the previous questions:Why are you trying to double your growth?"So that we can sell the company in the next five years." Why are you adopting this new technology?"Because our competitors are doing it and we have to keep up." Why are you conducting a salary equity study?"So that we have proof that we’re paying a competitive salary and we can compete for talent." Why are you asking for customer feedback?"Because sales are down and we need to know what’s going on." Why are you hiring a coach for your management team?"Because they are not taking the initiative to lead their teams and it’s wasting the executive team’s time and energy, which is more valuable." Why are you launching this new product?"Because sales of our existing products have plateaued and we need to create new products to generate more sales so that we continue to exist." Why are you redesigning your website?"Because our current website has an outdated design and doesn’t describe what we do anymore." Why are you updating your company values?"Because no one is living our current values." Why are you trying to reduce your carbon footprint?"To stay compliant and qualify for incentives." Why are you sharing this employee survey?"Because we need to figure out why our employees aren’t as productive as they could be, and how to make them more productive." Why does your organization exist?"To make that money, honey." If you're a leader and these feel closer to the truth, that's okayAre all of these whys clear and concise? More than the answers from the first round! Is the why often about money? Yup. And that is fine. Even for nonprofits? Absolutely. Are these answers enough to design an amazing strategy? Not entirely (which is why my returning clients bring me in earlier and earlier the more we work together – shaping the why is essential). Are they what we need to get started? They sure are. The real why – the real purpose – dictates the strategyIt provides a single source of truth. It makes things make sense to stakeholders, so that as a leader navigates their teams through change, it’s easier to reduce barriers to adoption of new behaviors and ownership over the future state. "But I can't just say 'I want to sell the company in five years' or 'to stay compliant'!" Well, first of all, you can (more on that another time). Second of all, your strategy will be muddled, disconnected, confusing, wasteful, and potentially completely flop or fizzle out if it is not designed based on your real why. How are you supposed to do that? Well, in my next newsletter, I’m going to follow this “purpose pathway” through a few examples so that you can see how a clear why helps a change strategy design itself. Stay tuned...it's about to get real. Know someone who needs to read this?Forward them this issue or share this page on your socials – there folks can check out past issues and subscribe so that they never miss a new one. Have a change challenge you want me to untangle in a future issue? Reply here and let me know. Talk soon, Caitlin Harper P.S. – Commcoterie designs and implements organizational change management and stakeholder communication strategies with companies and nonprofits that are committed to building a better world. We're fully booked through Q1 of 2025(!) – and Q2 through the end of the year is filling up fast, so if you're looking for a partner for your organizational change journey this year, reply here so we can set up time to talk and figure out if we're a good fit. |