Who’s in charge of you?

How do you decide what to focus on? Sometimes, the decision is made for us — an issue occurs or a regulator comes knocking. But the rest of the time, what then?

Many of us might default to objectives (self-set or organisational), but that’s not what I’m driving at. Let’s say our annual objectives relate to rolling out a new training and communication plan for Topic X. But how are we deciding to do that? And why is it needed?

Again, we might reply, “Well, we use this LMS (learning management system), and the marketing team helps with design.” Or “Conducting this training is a regulatory requirement.”

That’s not the why answer we’re looking for here…

…Why the hell does this even matter? Why should someone care? Why now? Why these people? Why would this change anything? Why, why, why.

If followed to their end, why questions will provide the best basis for how answers. How, without good why questions can become a variant of:

🥱 How we’ve always done it

🥱 How someone else does it

🥱 How we think someone wants to do it

That’s a recipe for some bad decisions, which often stem from not thinking, “And then what?”, ignoring trends, making assumptions (small sample size, availability heuristics, etc.), conforming to perceived authority, or wanting the world to be the way we want (rather than the way it is).

Maybe this is why most assessments I see aren’t assessments, aren’t helpful, and are costly (time and money). Most training is generic, dull, and forgettable. Most third-party management systems are tick-boxes with no behavioural consideration. Most risk and sustainability programmes are broad and conceptual, making them ripe for exploitation or attack (greenwashing claims to criminal exploitation).

Most… not yours, I’m sure. But tomorrow, when you look at your to-do list, take back ownership of any and every item where you have the influence and capacity to ask why. Life is too short to do what everyone else is doing.