We spend our weekly IDS® time solving symptoms rather than actual root causes, which means the same operational issues keep resurfacing under different names. How do we get our team to dig deeper and identify the issue behind the issue?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Solving symptoms is comfortable because it is easy. Solving root causes is uncomfortable because it usually involves addressing human behavior, bad processes, or structural weaknesses on your Accountability Chart.

To get to the issue behind the issue during your IDS® sessions, you must master the identify step. The person who raised the issue is rarely presenting the actual root cause. They are usually presenting the daily frustration it caused them.

Before anyone starts discussing solutions, the facilitator must ask the owner of the issue to state the problem in one simple sentence. Do not allow a long explanation.

Once stated, use the five whys technique. Ask why that specific issue occurred, and then ask why to that answer, digging deeper each time.

For example, if the issue is that a client proposal was late, do not just make a to-do to finish the proposal. Ask why it was late. Was it because the sales representative did not have the data? Why did they not have it? Was it because the operations lead was overloaded? Why were they overloaded?

Suddenly, you realize the issue is not a late proposal. The real issue is that your operations seat has too many responsibilities. That is the issue behind the issue. Solve that structural problem, and the late proposals disappear forever.