It depends, Vanita. Some companies have a policy of giving operations staff information on a ‘need to know’ basis while others are more engaging.

If you need the additional information to carry out your tasks at the operations level, the best way is to ask your immediate supervisor or reporting head for the information so you can complete the first part of the exercise. Requests quoted in the right language and form often get us the information we need to improve our efficiency and productivity.

Thanks Sunil. I knew you’d like this post. 🙂

I think a lot of it has to do with the new style of leaders who know the value of getting the implementation staff involved early on to mitigate costly errors, Joyce. The corporate world is indeed changing!

Thanks Kathleen. Both the why and how are important if we want to achieve great results. 🙂

We do come a full circle when we become managers, don’t we Marquita. 🙂 I’m a how person too but find it useful to figure out my why part because it keeps me motivated and the end goal stays in mind. I’m glad you enjoyed the post.

Reading the comments I was especially interested in Sue’s point about how her tai chi teacher told her to focus on “how” because I tend to do that myself when I’m facing a major obstacle and challenge myself with “Okay, HOW can I make this happen.” I enjoy learning how different people approach things like this. Thanks for the inspiration Vatsala!