Performance management tips – using 5 whys

One of the best-known management models to come out of Japan is the technique called the Five Whys, and it should be part of your management toolkit.

It’s a solid way of getting to the root of any problem you may have. When you have a problem, you ask the question ‘why?’ up to five times, by then you should have reached the real root of any problem you are dealing with.

Here’s an example:

Jenny is not performing to the standard you know she is capable of. You sit down with her and ask, why (1)?

 

You find out that Jenny has got too much work to do. Why (1) has she got into this position? Because she is seen as someone who a real expert and achiever in many areas and too many people ask her for help.

 

Why (3) has this occurred? Because the rest of the team haven’t been coached to deal with problems themselves.

 

And why (4) might that be the case? Because the team is under-resourced and coaching team members has been low priority.

 

And why (5) is that? Because a key team member wasn’t replaced when she left.

 

Sometimes the root cause is uncovered after two or three questions; sometimes it takes further examination to find the underlying cause. But the average it takes is around five levels of questioning.

 

Now that you have dug deep to ascertain the real root cause of why Jenny is under-performing, you can identify what is within your control and what is outside of it.

 

Is it possible for you to share out Jenny’s  workload? Does she need help from senior management to distribute her workload more efficiently?

 

Could she do with some coaching to make her more aware of when she should say no to delegated work?

By finding out the real reasons, you can then identify how it can be approached and offer solutions that might have been missed if you simply apply normal processes to manage someone’s performance.

Try the five why’s next time you face a performance challenge and see if it opens up more possibilities for you.

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