Using ‘Top 3’​ Questioning to Drive Breakthrough Performance

Ramping back up at work after the Christmas holidays can feel daunting both physically and mentally. There may have been problems left in the ‘Inbox’ on the 23rd that will be waiting patiently for your return on the 4th. And of course, all those problems and issues left behind before the break that still needs solving and put onto a positive trajectory ….. bring on the sugary drinks, please!

However, there isn’t an operation in existence that doesn’t experience problems. Especially in our industry, given the degree of human interaction in the process coupled with a very asset-intensive environment that is required to contend with a significant amount of forced deterioration on a daily basis. The processes involved in making asphalt, concrete, blocks etc have a lot of working parts all of which can potentially create operational headaches.

So, solving problems and optimising systems of work should be a core competency…. right? Or maybe things aren’t as slick on the front line as we would like due to a certain degree of ‘skill fade’ amongst the teams that we lead?

The effects of ‘skill fade’ in relation to operational problem solving are easy to spot. Pace will be missing; the approach won’t be robust and the outcomes will be weak. My advice for any leader responsible for the effectiveness of solutions put in place by their teams is always to check for two very important criteria:

1. Is the solution Preventative?
2. Is the solution Tangible?

The Problem-Solving Threshold

Interestingly, there’s also something of a ‘problem-solving threshold’ that a lot of front-line managers find themselves being able to operate under. This tends to be caused by Senior Leaders that have multi-site responsibility possessing a finite amount of ‘bandwidth’ when it comes to supporting the problem-solving process. Therefore, they tend to only be able to support the most serious issues.

This then leaves plants to manage their own localised issues. However, many front-line leaders perceive themselves to be operating in a vicious cycle of excess operational pressure created by ‘firefighting’ problems, which in turn doesn’t allow time to fix the route causes of the problems creating the ‘firefighting’ demand.

Front line leaders and teams then find themselves ‘absorbing’ problems and losses through employing coping strategies instead. Problem absorption rather than problem-solving is normally at its most obvious during either a routine visit by a senior operational lead or a visit generated due to an issue escaping the ‘problem threshold’.

The No Problem, Problem

This often sounds like:

Senior Lead to Plant Manager – ‘Hi, how are you doing? Is everything OK? Any problems? Any other issues we need to discuss?

And more often than not the question is met with either –
‘Nope, we’re all good’ (because we’ve made sure the entire plant is spotless with all the relevant paperwork and RCA’s speedily brought up to date the day before the visit or we talk about a problem that is very far down the tail of the Pareto because we know the following:

a) It’ll be relatively easy to solve once I’m given the action after the visit
AND
b) It’s not significant enough to get pulses racing for the wrong reasons

One of the disguised complications you get, when there’s a ‘Problem Threshold’ like the one mentioned earlier, is that the relatively low cost, low impact problems don’t get fixed. This, therefore, means that the operational team who have responsibility for the process aren’t getting any experience of reactively or proactively developing countermeasures – the capability is either lost or never developed, hence the ‘skill fade’.

And when low cost, low impact problems aren’t being solved you tend to experience a general degradation to standards that eventually bleeds into other more significant areas of the operation that will ultimately lead to serious and significant impacts.

All of the above can be summed up as ‘The No Problem, Problem’ and if your ‘Inbox’ is full of unwelcomed demand from before the Christmas break then this may in some parts have contributed to the volume.

So how do you combat this? The solution is much easier than you may think.

For anyone reading this for whom the subject matter resonates I’d suggest a fresh New Year’s Resolution. And that resolution would be to start utilising the power of ‘Top 3’.

In other words, whenever you speak with or visit a plant or operation within your span of control get into the habit (straight after the initial ‘hello’ and ‘good to see you’) of always asking ‘What are your Top 3 biggest problems?’.

On second thoughts, go further. Go much further. Build a reputation as a leader who always opens with ‘Tell me about / talk to me about your Top 3 ?’

Top tip!

Once you’ve asked the question …. Stop …. Wait …. And listen. You’re going to hear one of three responses next.

Response #1: ‘We’re all good, thanks’. Also known as ‘The No Problem, Problem’ most likely supported by a strong sense of unpreparedness around the question.

Response #2: You’ll hear a very good account of what the Top 3 are and you’ll get a sense that what you’re hearing matches with what you know and would expect.

This is a good place to be however before you get too excited be sure to follow up with an equally important question:

‘Tell me what you’re doing to solve those issues?’ Once again …. Stop…..Wait …… And listen.

If things go very quiet at this point or the ‘waffle alarm’ starts ringing in your head then you have a different set of issues that will quickly turn into ‘Response #1’ if you don’t find a way of having problems actioned, worked through and counter-measured for.

Over time, if teams get a sense that problems are not being managed towards a solution then they’ll very quickly lose faith and stop noticing/stop caring when things go wrong.

Participative Management

To develop high performing teams, you require high levels of ‘participative management’ to be working alongside equally high levels of ‘Employee Involvement’.

For simplicity, ‘Participative Management’ means having the ability to set out clearly and concisely the performance criteria that need to be achieved by the team.

Effective ‘Employee Involvement’ requires the team to have the tools, skills and opportunity to decide how they intend to meet that criteria.

By using ‘Top 3’ consistently in this way sets the scene for the ‘criteria that need to be achieved’. In other words … ‘I will always want to know the priorities you’re working on and you must always be prepared to articulate what you’re doing to fix them’.

By making small changes to a mindset over time, significant improvement can be achieved. These changes are rarely complicated in nature however, a disciplined approach to adopting new habits can make a world of difference to how the organisation reacts to everyday challenges.

At Productive Industries, we believe that businesses and organisations that win in the future won’t necessarily be the ones with the best talent, the most money or the latest technology. They will be the ones with the best teamwork. Teamwork will be the differentiator because it’s so powerful and, often, so rare.