Get Wise and Avoid “Why’s” to Improve Your Bottom Line

Here’s one tip that will not only change how you communicate with your employees, but also improve your bottom line. Avoid the word “why” in your conversations. The word why is actually a request for justification. Consequently, the receiver of that “why” feels that she has to justify herself, gets defensive and starts to shut down. Often you’ll see the person in front of you literally step backwards when she gets asked a “why” question. The result? Loss of creativity, excitement and productivity. Not exactly what you want in this economy.

Here’s an example with Juan, and his boss, Fatima:

Juan: Hey boss, got a minute? Remember when you asked me to create a story board for our new travel video? I got so excited that I started it already. It’s not done yet, but I wanted to get your feedback. What do you think?
Fatima: (after studying it for quite awhile) Why did you do it like this?
Juan: I dunno. Just thought it was cool. What’s the matter? Don’t you like it? Did I do it wrong?
Fatima: No, that’s not it. I like it. But why did you use orange?
Juan: I thought orange was a good color for this part of the video. But I can change it. What color do you think is best?
Fatima: It’s up to you. It’s your project. But green might be better.
Juan: (mumbles) OK. I’ll get to it later.

So what happened? Juan was so excited about the project that he started it ahead of time. He put a lot of energy, creativity and focus into a valuable tool for the company-a tool that will impact the bottom line. Yet, after a 3-minute conversation with is boss, he’s demoralized and will get to it “later”. Lots of things happened in that conversation, but the most important thing was the use of the word “why”. Fatima may have actually liked the story board; she may have thought it was going to improve the company’s image. However, by asking “why”, she essentially closed the conversation down and put Juan on the defensive. If she had used opening questions that began with what or how, she would have opened the conversation, empowered Juan and improved the bottom line with an effective video.

Here’s an example of how that can happen:

Juan: Hey boss, got a minute? Remember when you asked me to create a story board for our new travel video? I got so excited that I started it already. It’s not done yet, but I wanted to get your feedback. What do you think?
Fatima: Wow! You’re really excited about this. Let’s have a look. (after studying it for quite awhile) I can see you put a lot of hard work into this already. What inspired you to do it this way?
Juan: Well, our company is about exploring the world. I thought about the great explorers of the century and thought that our potential client may buy more if they thought they were going to be a fearless explorer too. So I used bold colors, images, and words.
Fatima: That’s a creative way to look at it. How does orange fit into the fearless explorer theme?
Juan: It makes you think of tigers and exploring India. What do you think?
Fatima: Orange could work. Green might work too. Why don’t you play with that and see what happens? You never know…
Juan: OK. I’ll get on it. This is so fun! Thanks so much for giving me this project. I’m going to do my best with it. You can count on me.

That conversation also took 3 minutes. However, because Fatima started her questions with  “how” and “what”, she opened up the conversation, allowing Juan to explain his ideas and move forward with new ideas. The result? A powerful video AND a motivated employee. That’s a win-win!

Try avoiding “why” today and notice how your conversations change. Then avoid it again tomorrow and the next day. After a week of this new skill, you’ll see improved morale, focus and productivity. So get wise and avoid the “why’s”.