Beyond the Quick Fix: Tackling Leadership’s Root Problems

Are you tired of surface-level solutions to deep-seated workplace issues? 

In this episode, we dive into why traditional reactions like reprimanding a bad boss or throwing pizza lunches at disengaged employees only address symptoms, not the disease. Discover how focusing on root causes—like toxic cultures, poor management practices, and systemic flaws—can lead to genuine, lasting change. We’ll explore real examples, from high turnover to low engagement, and share actionable strategies like Root Cause Analysis and data-driven decision-making to help leaders dig deeper and create a truly impactful workplace. Stop the quick fixes and start making a real difference.

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Transcript

Welcome back to Relationships At Work – Your guide to building workplace connections and avoiding leadership blind spots.  I’m your host Russel Lolacher

I’m a communications and leadership expert with a couple of decades of experience and a heap of curiosity on how we can make the workplace better. If you’re a leader trying to understand and improve your impact on work culture and the employee experience, you’re in the right place.

This mini-episode is a quick and valuable bit of information to shift your thinking for the week ahead. 

Inspired by our R@W Note Newsletter, I’m passing on to you… 

Let’s Stop Focusing on Symptoms and Ignoring the Disease

I want you to take a moment and think about how your or your organization handles cultural or leadership issues? 

Just take moment. Think about. 

For example, say there’s a horrible boss in your organization. What does your organization typically do in those situations?(and I don’t mean ignore it or allow it). What have we seen typically done - reprimanding them? Making them take training? Firing them? Usually. 

But, isn’t this more reactionary than strategic? Are we fixing a root cause or looking at short-term solutions with this? Unfortunately, we as leaders are far more quick to want to fix results, not reasons. 

It’s a focus on symptoms, not diseases.  

In the bad boss’s case, I’m not saying we shouldn’t reprimand them, propose training or fire them. But why aren’t we also looking at how they became, and were allowed to fester as, bad bosses? Why don’t we look at the the accountability of the bad boss’s boss in allowing them to become that way. Or the hiring practices that opened the door to them. Or the culture that seemed to say it was OK until it got too bad to ignore.  

The symptom is the bad boss. 
 The disease is the environment that allowed the bad boss to thrive or at least be permitted. 

Why do we focus on symptoms? Because it helps us feel like we "did something”. Because we’re busy. Because we have to move on to the next thing. 

It feels like it’s more about quieting the concerns, than addressing the issues. This falls into that "check box leadership" we've talked about on the show and in our newsletter that we really have to rethink and do better around this if we want to have a positive impact at work. 

Let’s look at more examples of only treating symptoms:

·       Symptom: High Employee Turnover - When a business area or department is losing lots of staff, and not necessarily for better-paying jobs or opportunities. That’s a result. 
 Symptom Solution: Making excuses, keep hiring.
 The reasons we should be focusing on: poor management practices, lack of career advancement and opportunities, or toxic work culture.

·       Symptom: Low Employee Engagement – We could seemeh job performance, minimal participation in meetings or events, and/or a general lack of enthusiasm or commitment to the job. 
Symptom Solution: Pizza lunches, focusing on "social" events.
Reasons: lack of trust, lack of feeling heard, lack of autonomy, lack of a known career path. 

·       Symptom: Increased Absenteeism or Requests to Work from Home - When employees start taking more sick days or personal days off than usual or have a higher request rate to work from home rather than come to the office.
 Symptom Solution: Forcing people to come to work, communicating platitudes - corporate values.
Reasons: it might indicate burnout, stress, or dissatisfaction with the workplace environment or interactions with leadership. 

None of these will be addressed with surface-level solutions. Addressing symptoms just says to employees that leadership really isn't interested in actually fixing things, whether that's true or not. 

So, how to get to the root of the problem:

1.    Root Cause Analysis (RCA) - If you've never done the "Five Whys" method, fishbone diagrams, or failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to trace problems back to their origin, I'd highly recommend it. The Why Method - This involves asking "why" repeatedly until the fundamental cause is identified, and not just the immediate triggers.

2.    Data-Driven Decision Making - Look at the data. And then don't ignore the data. Regularly (monthly, not every few years) collect and analyze data from employee feedback, performance metrics, and other relevant sources to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue and its linkages. 

3.    Employee Engagement and Feedback - this is where inclusion is so necessary. Actively involve employees in problem-solving processes through surveys, focus groups, and open forums. Employees often have firsthand insights into the challenges within their work environment. Creating a culture that values and encourages feedback ensures more accurate identification of root causes.

Basically – we need to dig deeper. Look for those root problems. Focusing on them to really create a workplace people love. Employees aren't stupid. They know when leaders are only doing surface-level leadership rather than working to enact meaningful change. It's important for us as leaders to understand that too.

It may be more work but we can make a difference. It’s way more impactful than making an excuse.