Our leadership team brings superficial symptoms to the weekly issues list, like software bugs or a bad client email. How do we push past these surface-level complaints during IDS® to identify the true root-cause issue?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To get to the root cause of an issue during IDS®, you must stop treating symptoms as if they are the actual problem. When a leader says our sales are down or our software has bugs, those are just symptoms. Solving a symptom is like putting a bandage on a broken leg. The issue will keep popping up week after week.

The Integrator must push the team to identify what is actually broken. Use the five-why technique. If the symptom is that a client project was delivered late, do not just make a to-do list to finish the project. Ask why it was late. If the answer is that the team did not have the specifications, ask why they did not have them. Keep digging until you hit a systemic failure.

Usually, the root cause falls into one of three buckets:

- A process issue where the steps are not documented or followed.
- An accountability issue where someone does not GWC™ their seat.
- A capacity issue where a team member is overloaded.

Once you find the root cause, the solution becomes obvious. It often results in a permanent fix, like updating a Core Process or moving a person to a different seat on the Accountability Chart. If your IDS® sessions feel repetitive, you are not digging deep enough. Stop solving symptoms and start fixing systems.