Tracing a problem to its origins, the best answer

A good leader is by nature a good questioner. There may be simple questions that seek clear facts, or complex questions that probe deep into beliefs and understandings. Effective questioning can provide an answer that solves the issue or may lead to further questioning as knowledge and understanding grows. It is obvious though, that however simple or complex an issue is, a good, clear and relevant question will be of far greater use to a leader than a question that is vague, poorly defined or irrelevant. Effective questioning is no easy task. It requires skills, techniques and experience coupled with a disciplined approached.

A questioning skill is a must to be an effective contributor. When you have a problem at work, how do you approach it? Do you start treating the symptoms? Or do you stop to consider whether there's actually a deeper problem that needs your careful attention? In other words, do you get to the bottom of the issue through a process of questioning to find out why the problem occurred.

If you only fix the symptoms on the surface, the problem will almost certainly happen again and you will have to continue 'fire fighting' every time the problem occurs. If, instead, you look deeper to figure out why the problem is occurring, you can fix the underlying behaviour, systems and processes that cause the problem.

Go beyond obvious reasons to dig deeper the root cause

Analysis is a relatively new popular and often-used technique by modern successful business organisations that helps people answer the question of why the problem occurred in the first place and it seeks to identify the origin of a problem. What exactly happened and why did it happen? You keep asking the question 'WHY' until you arrive at the origin of the issue. Then you can put in place measures to eliminate the recurrence of the same issue - at least not for the same reason.

An action in one area triggers an action in another and it continues. By tracing back these actions, you can find out where the problem lies and how it grew into the symptom you're now facing. Determining how far to go in your investigation requires good judgment and common sense.

Involve people who are closer to the problem

You need to analyse a situation fully before you can move on to look at factors that contributed to the problem.

To maximise the effectiveness of your root cause analysis, get together everyone - experts and front line staff - who understands the situation. People who are most familiar with the problem can help lead you to a better understanding of the issues.

Identify as many factors as possible and determine which factor or factors led to the issue. Too often, people identify one or two factors and then stop, but that's not sufficient. With root cause analysis, you don't want to simply treat the most obvious causes - you want to dig deeper to see the unseen.

Making them understand is better than telling them what the problem is

When working with employees to solve a problem, it is not enough to tell them what the problem is. They need to find or understand it for themselves.

You help them to do this by asking them thought-provoking questions. Rather than make assumptions, find out what the person you are talking to know about the problem.

Finding a half solution to the problem can give you far greater returns than a complete solution aimed at fixing the symptoms triggered by the problem.