I was working with a group the other day. They know where they want to go. What was blocking them from getting to their destination? Their answer was lack of time.
This an easy one to fall back on in personal work or group work. Lack of time, lack of money, lack of resources, lack of, lack of, lack of. You could fill a football field with lack of. The problem with lack of is the lack is not something you or your group can control. You can’t make more time, you can’t snap your fingers and have more money, you can’t fix a lack of. Spending energy on things you can’t control is like trying to walk across the country on a treadmill. You will get the steps in, but you won’t make any progress.
So how do you solve the lack of syndrome?
The first step in breaking free of the lack of syndrome is truly naming what is blocking forward progress.
Try using the 5 Why’s Method.
This method starts by asking “Why?” then asking, “why?” four more times.
Example: Group Lack of Time
Why does the group lack time?
Answer: Because we’re overbooked
Why is the group overbooked?
Because We say yes to everything
Why do we say yes to everything?
Because we are not sure what to say no to.
Why are you not sure what to say no to?
Because we don’t have a clear understanding of our priorities.
Why do we not have a clear understanding of our priorities?
Because we have not identified our priorities.
BINGO: Your group can’t control time but your group can identify your priorities. Determine what to say yes to and what to say no to. Does this help manage time?
This is a very brief exercise on how to use the 5 Whys to discover what’s truly blocking forward progress. 5 Whys is an effective method used in conjunction with process planning that can help groups stop wasting energy on what can’t be controlled and dial in on what can be controlled.
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