Our leadership team is great at identifying surface-level problems during IDS, but we keep solving the symptoms instead of the root cause, leading to the same operational issues reappearing on our list every few weeks. How do we train our team to dig up the real issue behind the issue?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Most leadership teams rush into solving because they are uncomfortable with the friction of digging deeper. They treat the first statement of a problem as the absolute truth. To get to the issue behind the issue, you must slow down during the Identify phase before you begin discussing or proposing solutions.

Start by asking the owner of the issue to state the problem in one clear sentence. Once they state it, do not accept it at face value. Ask probing questions to peel back the layers. Ask why the issue occurred, who is actually accountable on the Accountability Chart™, and what the systemic failure is.

- Is this a people issue where someone does not GWC™ their seat?
- Is this a process issue where a core process is not being followed?
- Is this a strategic alignment issue?

Keep asking "why" until you reach the underlying operational breakdown. Often, an issue presented as a marketing problem is actually a product delivery bottleneck, or a sales issue is actually a pricing model failure. You will know you have found the root cause when the issue points directly to a specific seat on your Accountability Chart™ or a breakdown in a documented process. Only when the entire leadership team agrees on the real root cause should you move to the Discuss phase. Solving a symptom is a waste of leadership team energy.