Countless articles and books have been written about leadership. How can you be better at it? What makes an effective leader? What approaches are impactful, and which detract from the mission? These are challenging questions to unpack but attempting to is meaningless unless you first address the question “Why?” In day-to-day business, the “what” is prioritized: What should we do or what are we accomplishing? But the “why” is rarely addressed, and that’s unfortunate. Addressing why will help ground leaders and set the framework for the execution of the plan. You can’t have a “what” without a “why.” The answer to why will also inform the answer to “how.” However, good leaders know that answer should never be dictated. That’s up to individual employees to decide. By staying focused on the what and the how, good leaders will guide their employees to the inevitable conclusion of how through clear messaging and consistent decision making.