Higher Performance Insights | Command Your Inner Toddler: Master the Five Whys
July 16, 2024
When test scores drop, we're quick to blame the curriculum. It's easy, obvious, and lets us move on.
But what if the curriculum isn't the problem?
What if the real issue is hiding five layers deep?
That's where the Five Whys come in. It's a simple tool with profound implications for educational leaders: [1]
- Ask why.
- Then, ask why again.
- Keep going until you've asked why five times.
It's not magic. It's persistence.
Here's the thing: In education, we're surrounded by surface-level solutions. They're comfortable and quick, but they rarely solve the real problem.
- The principal who implements a new reading program misses the underlying issue of teacher burnout.
- The superintendent who blames low attendance overlooks systemic transportation challenges.
- The district team that points to a lack of parent involvement ignores deeper community engagement issues.
- The college president, who attributes declining enrollment to competition, fails to recognize shifting student needs and expectations.
We settle for the first answer because digging is hard, uncomfortable, and forces us to confront truths we'd rather ignore.
But here's the secret: The fifth why is where the magic happens. It's where real change begins. [2]
The Five Whys is a technique for determining the root cause of a problem by asking the question “Why” five times.
Real Example
Just keeping it real, last week, my early morning workout routine didn’t happen.
- Why? – I was tired. (First why)
- Why? – I went to bed late. (Second why)
- Why? – I was on my phone. (Third why)
- Why? – I was scrolling the social. (Fourth why)
- Why? – I was bored. (Fifth why, a root cause)
The root cause was not tiredness, as first assumed, but boredom, which could be solved by (1) better meeting an unmet need (e.g., reading a book) or (2) making the behavior harder to do, as James Clear espouses in his book Atomic Habits. [3]
So, the next time you face a challenge, resist the urge to stop at the first why. Push further.
Ask again. And again.
Because the root cause is rarely where you expect it to be. And finding it? That's how you create Higher Performance and lasting change.
Team Discussion Question
Reflect on a recent challenge where your initial solution fell short. Apply the Five Whys technique as a team to uncover the root cause. How does this deeper insight change your perspective? What new, more effective strategies can you develop based on this analysis?
[1] Eric Ries introduced me to The Five Whys in his book, The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses.
[2] In addition to The Five Whys, Toyota also developed the idea of Just In Case vs. Just In Time manufacturing, which I wrote about HERE.
[3] Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones – James Clear.
Announcement
Research suggests leadership teams perform at just 60% of their performance potential, leaving a massive 40% on the table. That discretionary effort becomes the make-or-break point for campuses nationwide. This is the dilemma between genuine campus engagement and the dragging lag of campus inertia.
My latest book, CANCELAVERAGE: A Practical Guide to Accelerating Higher Team Performance, is a blueprint for this new standard. It's an invitation for leaders ready to lead with courage, challenge the status quo, and replace 'best practices' with something better.
Click the link, BOOK A KEYNOTE, to sharpen your team’s performance advantage today!
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A roomful of decorated leaders doesn't automatically create genius-level teamwork. 🎓 Congratulations to the Class of 2025! 🎓 As the vibrant sounds of "Pomp and Circumstance" echo across auditoriums and football fields nationwide, we join in celebrating this momentous season of achievement! This May and June, an estimated 4 million college graduates and nearly 3.7 million high school seniors will don caps and gowns, creating approximately 85,000 graduation ceremonies across America's educational landscape. Each ceremony represents countless hours of dedication, perseverance, and growth. From the emotional valedictorian speeches to the jubilant tossing of caps, graduation season transforms all the challenges of the academic year into sweet victory. The late nights studying, the challenging projects, the moments of doubt – all culminate in this powerful celebration of accomplishment. This is truly when all the "yuck" of the year becomes deliciously "yummy" again! 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Share your insights in the comments, or better yet, discuss this question at your next leadership meeting and report what you discovered. What surprised you most? REFERENCES Center for Creative Leadership. (2024). Why new leaders fail: The hidden costs of poor team integration. CCL Research Report, 14(2), 23-41. Deloitte. (2023). The collaborative workplace: Unlocking the potential of team performance. Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends, 45-62. Gallup. (2024). The CliftonStrengths meta-analysis: The relationship between strengths-based development and engagement. Gallup Research, 18(3), 112-128. Hogan Assessment Systems. (2024). Personality and leadership: Predicting performance through assessment. Hogan Research Division Technical Report TR-724. Johnson, M., & Smith, K. (2023). Learning retention in executive education: A longitudinal study. Columbia Business School Research Paper No. 23-12. Mathieu, J. E., Luciano, M. M., D'Innocenzo, L., Klock, E. A., & LePine, J. A. (2023). The development and construct validity of a team mental models measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 108(5), 789-815. McKinsey & Company. (2024). Building capabilities for performance: From learning to impact. McKinsey Quarterly, 2, 78-91. Multi-Health Systems. (2023). Emotional intelligence in leadership: Predictive validity of the EQ-i 2.0. MHS Technical Report TR-2023-04. Myers & Briggs Foundation. (2022). MBTI Manual: A guide to the development and use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instrument (4th ed.). Consulting Psychologists Press. Rozovsky, J. (2024). Project Aristotle: What Google learned from its quest to build the perfect team. Google People Analytics White Paper. Senge, P., & Edmondson, A. (2024). Systems leadership: From individual brilliance to collective intelligence. Harvard Business School Working Paper 24-076. Wiley. (2023). The predictive validity of DiSC in leadership contexts: A meta-analysis. Wiley Research Division Technical Report WP-2023-11. Woolley, A. W., Aggarwal, I., & Malone, T. W. (2023). Collective intelligence and group performance. Harvard Business Review, 101(3), 78-89. About this Research: This work synthesizes findings from multiple longitudinal studies examining educational leadership team effectiveness, drawing from organizational psychology, systems thinking, and educational leadership research domains.
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With teacher shortages, learning recovery needs, budget constraints, and political polarization, traditional leadership approaches increasingly fall short. When Innovation Meets Resistance Perhaps the most valuable insight from burro racing comes from understanding what happens when forward progress stalls. Experienced racers explain that when burros refuse to move, it's not simple stubbornness—it's caution. These intelligent animals stop to assess situations that feel dangerous or unknown. This mirrors what happens in our schools and districts. When faculty, staff, or community resist new initiatives, what might appear as obstinacy often signals legitimate concerns. The veteran teacher who questions a new curriculum rollout, the department chair hesitant about schedule changes, or the student government pushing back on policy reforms—each may be responding to genuine risks or misalignment with core educational values. Building Relationships Before Implementation For those borrowing or renting a burro for race day, organizers strongly encourage arriving early—even the night before—to build rapport with their racing partner. Without this relationship-building, success becomes nearly impossible. Similarly, campus leaders can't expect immediate buy-in when introducing significant changes. The most successful curriculum adoptions, schedule revisions, or strategic plans begin with relationship cultivation before implementation. As race organizer Shane Weigand explains, "You have to spend a lot of time on the trail with your burro, building up that relationship and trust." Leading Without Controlling In burro racing, runners cannot ride their animals—they must guide without dominating, persuade without forcing. The relationship requires genuine partnership rather than control. This approach resonates deeply with effective educational leadership today. Command-and-control structures increasingly fail in school environments where teacher expertise, student agency, and parent involvement are essential for sustainable success. Five Strategies for Educational Leaders Navigating Resistance Drawing inspiration from these remarkable athletes and their burro partners, here are five actionable strategies for school and college leaders: 1. See resistance as valuable feedback, not obstruction. When faculty hesitate to embrace new pedagogical approaches or technologies, listen first. Like an experienced burro racer, understand that apparent resistance often indicates legitimate concerns (or fears) that deserve addressing. 2. Invest in relationship-building before implementation. The most successful campus initiatives begin with trust-building conversations. Create informal spaces for dialogue about potential changes long before formal rollout. 3. Honor educational partnership. Your teachers, staff, students, and parents aren't simply recipients of directives—they bring essential wisdom to the table. Design inclusive decision-making processes that genuinely incorporate diverse perspectives. 4. Develop versatile leadership approaches. Burro racers prepare for varied conditions—from sprint starts in town to technical trail sections in the backcountry. Educational leaders similarly need flexible approaches for different challenges: a collaborative style for curriculum development, a more directive approach during safety emergencies, and a coaching stance for teacher development. 5. Celebrate diverse forms of excellence. In Cerrillos, teams competed for various recognitions, including the playful "last ass" award for the final finisher. Create a campus culture that honors different forms of contribution, not just test scores and academic achievements, but also compassion, creativity, perseverance, and community building. Leading Forward Together The burro racers of New Mexico demonstrate that success isn't about domination—it's about creating genuine partnerships, building trust, and navigating challenging terrain together. This lesson feels especially relevant as schools and colleges face unprecedented challenges. Educational reforms imposed without stakeholder buy-in typically fail, while those developed through authentic partnership gain momentum even through difficult implementation phases. For a deeper look at this fascinating sport and its surprising parallels to educational leadership, read the full AP News article: Burro racing wins over runners in backcountry ode to mining history YOUR TURN Consider a persistent challenge in your educational community where progress seems stalled. What if resistance isn't obstruction but a signal of caution or a desire for clarity? What might your stakeholders be sensing that you haven't yet recognized? How might approaching this challenge through partnership rather than authority create new possibilities? Share a time when listening to resistance actually improved an initiative. What did you learn about leadership through that experience? Like the burro racers navigating historic mining trails, effective educational leaders honor tradition while forging new paths forward—not by commanding, but by partnering. References Associated Press. (2025, May 3). Burro racing wins over runners in backcountry ode to mining history. AP News. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/wild-burro-racing-donkey-mining-new-mexico-9f20f6736401139529c8946162b97046 Fullan, M. (2019). Nuance: Why some leaders succeed and others fail. Corwin Press. Hargreaves, A., & O'Connor, M. T. (2018). Collaborative professionalism: When teaching together means learning for all. Corwin Press. Heifetz, R. A., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and tactics for changing your organization and the world. Harvard Business Press. Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. Weigand, S. (2025, May 3). Personal interview. Cerrillos Burro Race, New Mexico.