Why you should start with why
In 2012 I left my fun and cushy job to join a video production company. It was a startup and I was taking a big risk. I’d spent seven years at that point working for Apple and had managed a team of 6 people and served as a leader in the company for over five years at that point. My position there was firm and I was leaving to join a no name startup. But I also knew that my career needed fresh energy and my portfolio needed more diversity. So I was going to join this small company where I would be able to direct documentary shorts and expand my body of work. It was the first time I’d taken such a risk. I could feel the adrenaline pumping in my blood when I accepted the job. I was married with a one year old daughter relying on me to earn a living. But I felt confident that I was making the right choice.
Then something changed. Shortly after having accepted the position, my CEO called me to welcome me to the company and tell me how excited he was to have me on board. Then he said something to me I’ll never forget - “I just have one request: don’t ever ask me why.”
I knew in that moment, I’d made a mistake. What the CEO was effectively telling me was that he didn’t want me to ever question his judgement or ask why we were doing things a certain way. Everything about this ran contrary to what I’d learned about leadership at Apple. I didn’t want to believe my instinct in that moment that I’d made a mistake but as it turns out, my instincts were right. A little over a year later, the company had lost its momentum and I found my position eliminated and soon I was back to freelancing.
There were a lot of reasons the company went under that had nothing to do with the CEO. Arguably, however, the CEO might have considered other avenues of success and found ways to pivot toward a successful avenue if he had been more open minded to feedback and input from employees.
When people aren’t allowed to ask why, I think it’s a reflection of insecurity at the top. And most people feel the same way. Even if they don’t say it out loud, people understand that when a leader isn’t willing to have their judgement questioned, that the leader may be insecure. Even worse, the leader themselves may understand that the reasons they’re doing what they’re doing are actually illogical or based on emotion and so they’re not able to justify the reasoning behind their actions. This can lead to insecurity throughout the team. When the team doesn’t know why they’re doing what they’re doing, you can be sure that breeds unhappiness and corruption.
But when people understand the driving philosophy behind the organization then they are primed to make better decisions. All their decision making can be derived from their driving purpose. This is critical because there’s only so many hours in the day for each member of the team and only so many dollars for the team to spend. Do I want to do business with this vendor? Do I make this purchase? Where should my energy go on this project? All those decisions can be made easier when we understand our purpose and why we’re doing what we’re doing.
Some leaders might fear that if their team knows the “why”, they’ll disagree with them and want to leave. But that’s actually a good thing. Why would you want someone on your team who doesn’t buy in to your vision? Yes, it’s inconvenient to lose them but ultimately they’ll be happier finding an organization that is aligned with their values. And, as a leader, you’ll be better off finding someone who aligns with yours.
This even holds true in film production. Filmmaking is a collaborative effort so when someone brings an idea to the table that you disagree with, you don’t want to discourage them by shooting down the idea without explanation. You want to explain your reasoning. Why? So that you get that creative thinking on the same wavelength as you. If they’re coming up with ideas that don’t align with your vision, clarify the vision for them. That way they’ll start coming up with ideas that align with yours. Now, you’ve got an ally in the filmmaking process.
