Sometimes, simple answers reveal deeper problems.
How often have you asked someone why they do a task a certain way and heard:
“That’s just how we’ve always done it.”
It’s a familiar reply. It’s also a red flag.
A team member spends 20 minutes each morning generating a report in a specific format. When asked why, they shrug. No one on the receiving end has opened it in months. No one remembers who requested it or when it became routine.
On the surface, it sounds harmless, maybe even reasonable. But beneath it often lies circular thinking, passive execution, and unexamined habits. In most cases, it’s not the task itself that’s broken. It’s the lack of clarity behind it.
That kind of answer is rarely a root cause. More often, it’s a symptom. And when you start pulling on that thread, you might find a deeper cultural issue, one that quietly slows teams down and limits performance.
A team member manually copies data between two systems every day, even though both systems can export and import files. When asked why they don’t automate it, they pause: “I’m not sure. That’s just how I was shown.”
Sometimes the issue began with onboarding. The employee learned the steps but never received a clear explanation of what the task was for. Without that context, they’re just completing motions, not contributing as informed team members.
Sometimes it’s a knowledge gap. The employee knows their task exists within a larger process, but they’ve never seen how their work connects to the outcome. They can’t spot problems upstream or suggest improvements downstream because no one showed them the whole picture.
Sometimes it’s a management issue. No one followed up. No one reviewed the training or asked for feedback. The manager may not have realized there was a gap at all, or may not have addressed it when they did.
And sometimes, the problem runs all the way up to leadership. The company culture doesn’t encourage questions. It rewards routine. It values execution over understanding. Or maybe the culture is well-intended but wasn’t clearly communicated or reinforced.
None of this is irreversible. Once spotted, these issues are straightforward to address.
Sometimes all it takes is a better question. Asking “What outcome is this meant to support?” or “Why is this step necessary?” can open the door to conversations that routine rarely invites.
More context. Better onboarding. Smarter training. Regular check-ins. A few simple shifts can turn passive task-doers into engaged problem-solvers. That obsolete morning report? A single conversation about outcomes could have ended it months ago. And when people understand why they’re doing something, not just how, it shows. In morale. In quality. In outcomes.
Managers and leaders need to reject “We’ve always done it this way” as an acceptable answer. They must question the habit, clarify the reasoning, and make sure the process still serves its purpose.
Because answers like that aren’t the end of the conversation. They’re the start of a better one.