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For such a small word, why has a tremendous impact. The presence of a reason, for example, makes it easier for people to reach out to others. The power of why extends to other scenarios.
Giving people a reason for a request can also be incredibly impactful in leadership. Many leaders focus on issuing clear instructions, but they often overlook the value of explaining the purpose behind a request. Without that explanation, even straightforward tasks may be met with resistance or resentment, while giving a reason helps to build engagement, ownership and motivation.
As Daniel Pink observed in his book Drive, “People at work are thirsting for context. They want to know that what they do contributes to a larger whole.”
A Simple Reason Leads to Strong Results
In a study conducted by Adam Grant of the University of Pennsylvania, employees in a university call center were split into groups. One group was told why their work mattered (for example, they were raising funds to help students), while the others received no explanation. The group given a reason for their activity raised more than twice the amount of money as the control group.
In Thinking, Fast and Slow, psychologist Daniel Kahneman explains that people are more likely to accept ideas when they experience cognitive ease—when the information feels easy to process and familiar. When a reason accompanies a request, it requires less mental effort to understand and accept, leading to less resistance and greater trust.
A clear correlation has been established between giving reasons for requests and the response received. There are other reasons why leaders should communicate purpose more clearly to their reports.
Creating Safe and Engaged Teams
In recent years, there has been a growing acceptance of the benefits of creating a psychologically safe environment for people to work in. Amy Edmondson, of Harvard Business School, has demonstrated how something as simple as giving a reason when making a request can increase feelings of psychological safety.
In her book The Fearless Organization, Dr. Edmondson states, “When people understand the rationale behind a decision or direction, they feel more included in the process—even if they didn’t make the decision themselves.”
When leaders provide the why behind a request, they move from command-communication to a more collaborative style of engagement. They are telling their team that they trust them to understand the whole picture and not to have to act blindly. As Edmondson highlights, this fosters interpersonal trust and reduces the perception of a power imbalance, helping to create a more psychologically secure environment.
Open communication also drives engagement, removing confusion about priorities and the bigger picture and increasing motivation. Linking a request to an overarching objective gives a purpose to the work, and, as Penn’s Grant has shown, people are more motivated when they feel that their work has meaning.
Simple Steps to Providing Purpose
It shouldn’t be a challenge to move from telling teams what to do to enrolling team members through purpose. It just takes a little thought and time and enough caring to explain rather than dictate. Here are some simple steps to shift your communication:
- Ensure you include a reason in every request or directive you give your team. Make it a core of your ask, whether verbal or written, so that communicating that purpose clearly becomes second nature.
- Bring your requests to life by sharing real-world examples, telling stories and explaining exactly what success will look like if everyone plays their role.
- Don’t just tell, ask. Take purpose to another level by sharing your ideal outcome and inviting your team to share their ideas for a path forward before allotting tasks. After all, if you reach your objective with everyone on board, does it matter where the ideas came from?
Giving reasons for requests and direction is a simple way to turn instruction into inspiration. By doing so, you’ll see better results, greater team engagement, and more-trusted relationships with the people you lead.
There’s a very simple reason why!