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Good Question!
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh, that's a good question." That's how we tend to respond when we really don't know the answer, and may be trying to buy some time to think. Most of us have been programmed to believe that we "should know the answer" to questions that are posed to us in the workplace and in general. When we are supposedly "listening" we are often searching our mental data base for the "right answer" or "response" to questions we anticipate may be asked of us. The practice of tuning in to the radio station playing in our head instead of listening fully to the person we are engaged in a conversation with is the source of many a communication breakdown, which leads to problems and lost opportunities. Tangent acknowledged, let's get back to the power of good questions.
As the legendary CEO, Sam Walton, demonstrated, asking good questions can really pay off. Sam Walton asked himself and others questions about retail, distribution, and economies of scale that others apparently had not asked before. In our coaching practice, we call them high gain questions. High gain questions are questions that cause others to stop in their tracks and think.
Some examples of high gain questions include: "What's working well here?" "What are your ideas for helping our team become more productive?" "What are your ideas for helping our plant become more competitive?" "What do you value most about your team?" "What inspires you most about our mission?" Responses to these kinds of questions can be leveraged for the good of all concerned.
Low gain questions by comparison are questions that can often be answered with yes or no, or a "knee jerk" response. While well intentioned, low gain questions can lead us and others down a path of "no possibility." Examples of low gain questions include, "Who caused this problem?" "Why did you do it THIS way?" "Anybody have any questions?" Low gain questions can even put us and others on "the defensive." "Being on the defensive" seems to consume a ton of creativity in the workplace; have you noticed? What if this same creativity were put to use improving the performance of our respective businesses, not for profit missions, and, yes, even our government entities. What if???
Thanks to our wonderful colleague, Daniel Pryfogle, we have intentionally incorporated "appreciative inquiry" into our work with clients. This practice has caused us to ask better questions. These "higher quality questions" are intended to tap into individual and team thinking, helping folks to access their most creative and energizing thoughts and feelings about the topic at hand. The dialogue becomes extremely value added, and literally brings out the best in people and in organizations. By integrating these appreciative questions and practices into our work we seem to tap into the "inner genius" of individuals, teams and organizations.
If you truly wish to Enjoy Your Best Decade Yet, you might consider asking yourself and others better questions. It just could be that a totally different world will take shape around you.
"It is the questions that count. We live in the world that our questions create." Encyclopedia of Positive Questions, Volume One" Whitney, Cooperrider, Trosten-Bloom, Kaplin.
And now your coaching challenge, should you choose to accept it.
Pay attention to the kinds of questions you are asking of your colleagues and those looking to you for leadership. Pay attention to the kinds of questions you are asking yourself. Do they tend to be low gain questions or high gain questions? Consider upgrading the quality of your questions to upgrade the quality and speed of the results you wish to produce.
We'll see you on line next Monday. Wishing You Your Best Questions Yet!
Cheers! Coach Jeanne
The Quality Coach!®, Celebrating over 20 Years of Coaching Great Leaders & Teams.
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