Courage to Require the Why
How many times have you asked a question and received silence or “I don’t know” as a response? Do you wonder why?

If it is your task to discover information, then you may be familiar with how information can lead to more questions, better answers, and informed solutions. It would be great if a quick metric or data review was the only stop to decision support and strategy development. The reality is, consultants can end up on a courageous solutions chase to answer questions.

An example of a solutions chase happened on an initiative I worked on in the financial services sector when a mortgage fulfillment site needed to reduce the percentage of loans with rate lock extensions. This wasn’t a chase that was uphill both ways in temperatures below zero; however, it did start around the holiday season which can add complexity to projects in any environment where volume spikes.

With this specific project there was a need to see disaggregated data at a team member level to help provide information for developing solutions. Once obtained, this data provided clarity on the next questions to ask, but it also left more unknowns on how to help build solutions.

So, what can we do when the opportunity to improve requires more answers?

In my experience, when you raise awareness, require responses, and build reports that increase accountability you discover answers along with ways to improve performance. This approach uses facts, truth, and process which can help remove bias and blaming when it comes time to answer the “whys”.

Get the Facts
An opportunity to improve assumes that there is a gap between the current metric or ranking and the desired goal.

Facts don’t necessarily tell you what steps to take, but they can give insight into where to look first. It will be necessary to filter for misinformation and disinformation because data is not always complete or accurate, and the full picture is not always seen.

Mining for the facts helps build and support the next steps in this process. To the best of your ability, consume bias-free information or at least understand the intent of who is sharing information. Some questions to consider:

• Who is producing the report or sharing the information? What is their intent?
• Where does the source data come from?
• Has the data been independently validated for completeness and accuracy?

On an initiative that I worked on with a Fortune 100 Company the fulfillment site needed to reduce the number of loans in their pipeline with rate lock extensions. There were a few different ways to look at the impact, and it took more than a disaggregated view of the data to discover a solution.

With this specific project, the perspective shifted from viewing the impact of the metric from a sales hierarchy to discovering potential causes from the fulfillment hierarchy. Seeing variance at the team and team member level shed a little light on next steps.

Discover the Truth
There must be an ability to be silent and allow the data to speak. During this time, it can be helpful to keep calm as misinformation and dis-information swirl. Helpful next steps involve listening to and consulting with people from various levels of the organization.

The intent is to learn, not to find who to blame.

Additional information can come from consultative conversations to better understand the best practices or obstacles not revealed in the data. After these conversations, there is still a need to inspect what is expected based on what is shared and what is written in policy or process.

I built reports that showed the rate lock extension metrics down to the team and team member level and leadership required that open-ended responses be provided on every extended loan within a certain time frame. At the end of the expected time frame, a process would run to pull in the responses and look for common themes.

This process required a “boots on the ground” manual review of loan notes and an inspection of files.

The responses projected more light onto where focused effort could move the needle; however, there was quite a bit of variance in the answers. To increase clarity, the options for responses were constrained and the exercise continued until it was clear that where there were opportunities to improve.

Improvements were made to the process as well as to procedural standards. And all it took… was some analytical light, a little digging, some kicking and flipping of rocks, and courage to require the why.

Why was courage necessary?
Imagine venturing into unknown territory with a charge to discover answers and return with solutions. Doesn’t sound exciting to most people, right?

Many intellectually curious people will realize that the process of discovery is something that they must do every day; however, success can depend on ones determination to require an answer to the “why”.

It takes courage to withstand, persevere, and face the difficulties of the unknown. It takes courage to share insight that doesn’t seem favorable. It takes courage to admit when the ‘why’ still isn’t clear, and that you’re not sure when it will be.

Improve the Process
With the facts and discovered truths in hand, the process can move from create solutions to find solutions… to implement possible solutions.

Collaboration efforts helped to identify where updates in the process would increase communication between team members and improve the customer experience. Reports also evolved from this collaboration and the site continued to build on a culture of awareness and accountability. At this site, the norm was to know the metrics, look at them frequently, and confirm that the numbers improved.

New insight to continue improvements didn’t always come from the person that demanded the most attention or spoke the loudest. Within the site, there were quiet team members and leaders who worked with diligence, picked up the new tools that were made available, and incorporated them into their processes. In addition, improved disaggregated data gave the ability to lift and recognize high performers and they shared their best practices.

With the facts and discovered truths in hand, the process can move from create solutions to find solutions… to implement possible solutions.

Collaboration efforts helped to identify where updates in the process would increase communication between team members and improve the customer experience. Reports also evolved from this collaboration and the site continued to build on a culture of awareness and accountability. At this site, the norm was to know the metrics, look at them frequently, and confirm that the numbers improved.

New insight to continue improvements didn’t always come from the person that demanded the most attention or spoke the loudest. Within the site, there were quiet team members and leaders who worked with diligence, picked up the new tools that were made available, and incorporated them into their processes. In addition, improved disaggregated data gave the ability to lift and recognize high performers and they shared their best practices.

Call to Action
As you look at metrics or data to gather information or determine next steps, have the courage to require the why. Solutions may need to start with change, not a bigger budget. Stay persistent in the solution chase to get a few answers that build incremental solutions.

What “why…” will you answer next?