Fix the System: Mastering the ‘5 Whys’ for Better Leadership

Alright, let’s talk straight.

How often does your leadership week get hijacked by the exact same frustrating problems
showing up like unwelcome relatives?

That missed deadline again? The recurring customer complaint that supposedly got fixed last month? The process bottleneck everyone grumbles about but never truly gets resolved?

You know the drill. A flurry of urgent emails flies. Maybe some tense meetings involve careful finger-pointing disguised as “seeking clarity.” Eventually, someone applies a quick patch to the symptom, everyone breathes a sigh of relief, and the cycle resets, waiting to bite you again next quarter. Sound familiar?

This constant firefighting, this treadmill of treating symptoms instead of causes, is exhausting. It bleeds resources, kills morale, and it’s a classic sign of “Accidental Design” – letting your business operations manage you, instead of you managing them with purpose.

In high-stakes aviation, where I spent years operating complex aircraft, ignoring the root cause of a system failure isn’t just bad practice; it’s unthinkable. You don’t just reset a tripped circuit breaker and hope for the best; you meticulously diagnose why it tripped and fix the underlying short circuit before you even think about taking off again. Ignoring root causes in that environment has catastrophic consequences. While the stakes might seem different in business, the principle holds: ignoring the root cause of recurring problems leads to a slow, grinding failure that drains profitability and potential.

So, what’s the simple, yet powerful, tool leaders can use today to break this cycle? How can you shift from blaming people to fixing the system? Master the “5 Whys.”

The Deceptively Simple Power of Asking “Why?”

Yes, it sounds basic. Almost too basic. But the 5 Whys technique is a potent diagnostic tool used in demanding fields from lean manufacturing to critical incident analysis. It forces you and your team to dig beneath the surface symptom, layer by layer, until you uncover the often-hidden systemic issue – the flaw in the process, the gap in the training, the ambiguity in roles – that truly caused the problem.

It works exactly like it sounds: When confronted with a problem, you repeatedly ask “Why?” (typically about five times, though it might be fewer or more) using the answer to the previous question as the basis for the next.

Let’s walk through a quick business example:

• Problem: Project ‘Phoenix’ just missed its critical launch deadline.
  1. Why? Because the final testing phase took a week longer than planned. (Okay, but why?)
  2. Why? Because several unexpected, critical bugs were discovered late in the testing cycle. (Getting warmer, but why weren’t they caught earlier?)
  3. Why? Because the integration testing between Module A and Module B didn’t happen until the final phase. (Interesting. Why was integration testing left so late?)
  4. Why? Because the project plan allocated developer resources sequentially (Module A then Module B), with integration testing only scheduled at the very end. (Aha! But why was the plan structured that way?)
  5. Why? Because our standard project management template/process doesn’t explicitly require or schedule parallel development paths with early integration testing for projects of this type. (Systemic Root Cause!)

See the shift? We started with a missed deadline (often leading to blaming the project manager or testing team) and ended with a specific flaw in the standard project management process – part of the “Business Airframe” I discuss in Built to Soar. The fix isn’t replacing the project manager; it’s improving the standard process template to include early integration testing, preventing this entire class of problem on future projects.

Connecting the 5 Whys to a High-Performance Business System

This simple technique isn’t just a standalone trick; it’s a vital component of building a resilient, continuously improving organization, directly connecting to core “Built to Soar” principles:

• Understanding Your Business Airframe (Ch 3): The 5 Whys helps you diagnose weaknesses in your core operating system – your processes, systems, and accountability structures. It shifts the focus from individual errors (“Who messed up?”) to systemic flaws (“Where did the system fail?”).
  
• Sharpening Your MAT Response (Ch 8): When crises hit, the 5 Whys is indispensable during the “Analyze the Situation” phase of the Maintain-Analyze-Take Action framework. It ensures you diagnose the real problem under pressure, allowing you to “Take Proper Action” on the root cause, not just the initial chaos.
  
• Fueling Your Learning Engine (Ch 9): Effective After-Action Debriefs run on root cause analysis. The 5 Whys transforms debriefs from blame sessions into powerful learning opportunities, identifying exactly where processes or systems need refinement to prevent repeat failures.
  
• Driving True Accountability (Ch 3 & 4): By uncovering systemic issues, the 5 Whys fosters meaningful accountability – holding people responsible for executing well-designed processes and, crucially, for improving those processes when flaws are found. It replaces the blame game with constructive problem-solving.

The Leadership Advantage: More Than Just Problem Solving

When you, as a leader, consistently apply and encourage the 5 Whys discipline, the benefits extend far beyond fixing individual problems:

• Reduced Recurring Issues: You solve problems at their source, stopping the cycle of repetitive failures.
• Systematic Improvement: You continuously identify friction points and opportunities to strengthen your operational “Airframe.”
• Enhanced Critical Thinking: Your team learns to diagnose issues more deeply and think systemically.
• Improved Culture: Blame decreases as focus shifts to process; psychological safety increases as finding flaws becomes about learning, not punishment.
• Freed-Up Leader Capacity: Less time spent firefighting the same old issues means more time for strategic thinking, coaching, and leading growth.

Take Command: Use the 5 Whys Today

Stop accepting recurring problems and operational friction as inevitable. Stop treating symptoms. The next time your team encounters a frustrating snag – a missed target, a customer complaint, an internal bottleneck – resist the urge to jump to conclusions or assign blame.

Instead, grab a whiteboard (virtual or real), gather the key players, and lead them through the 5 Whys. Ask the simple question relentlessly until you hit a root cause you can actually fix within your system.

Mastering this simple tool is a powerful step toward more effective leadership and building an organization that doesn’t just react to problems but anticipates and prevents them – an organization truly Built to Soar.

Check out the sign up to get updates on the release of the Built To Soar Book