By: Jade Scherr
As a communications professional, you know the feeling — you come up with an innovative idea that you’re sure will succeed. Motivated and eager, you present it to your organization’s leadership, only to have it quickly rejected because the company isn’t ready for change. You bite your tongue, debating whether you should push back or just roll over and embrace the ever-failing “we’ve always done it this way” approach.
What if there was an easier way? What if, instead of focusing on how and what you’ll change, you focused on why you’d change things? Let’s explore how asking one simple question can make all the difference when it comes to making impactful changes in your organization.
Why Is It So Important?
When you ask “why,” you’re forcing yourself and your organization to dig deeper into a problem or challenge and uncover potential solutions that may have previously been overlooked. It also helps create an environment where every voice is heard — which can be incredibly beneficial for fostering collaboration and buy-in within your organization. Finally, asking why allows teams to develop unique strategies for approaching difficult tasks — and oftentimes those strategies will work better than traditional approaches.
When you don’t ask why, these things happen:
• You make assumptions.
• You make decisions based on incomplete and/or incorrect information.
• You impact relationships.
• You get frustrated.
Ultimately, when you ask why, you’re acting as the catalyst to realign your organization so that you’re growing and working toward the same goal, keeping everyone happier and healthier along the way.
Click here to continue reading.
Photo: Leeloo Thefirst