A formula for insight in your teams
As a coach, I love the power of questions. Their primary function is to shift our attention towards something that we either hadn't considered or could benefit from looking at in a new way. In our teams, questions provide fuel for learning. Asking the right questions at the right time sets teams up to share knowledge, insights and experiences. More than ever, teams who learn fastest have a distinct competitive advantage.
Alone, questions are not enough to add value to our teams. In the same way that a glass isn't useful without a drink to put in it, your questions are only useful if they enable productive answers. I recently reflected on this and came up with an(other!) unscientific formula for insight that you can apply in your teams.
Simple questions + honest answers = Insight
Let's quickly break down the components and one tip for each of them:
Simple questions - the best questions are often the simplest. I shared one last week and many of you shared others. I am struck by how often the best questions have a simplicity that belies their value.
Quick tip: Steal great questions! Pay attention to great questions that others ask and repurpose them in your context. Ironically, I stole this tip from Jennifer Garvey Berger in a recent webinar.
Honest answers - even more than the 'right' answer, an honest answer is what teams need. To understand more of how our teams are seeing things, we need to make it OK for them to not just tell us what we want to hear
Quick tip: Walk the talk. Be honest with your own answers - especially if you don't know 'the' answer. You will demonstrate that you value honest answers.
Insight - according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, this is "the power or act of seeing into a situation". Seeing what is from as many angles as possible is a superpower for teams
Quick tip: Celebrate and acknowledge when your team has been able to see in a new way - even (or especially) when it challenges your existing assumptions. Try Zander's "how fascinating!"
Here are three questions that I hope you will answer honestly and provide you with insight:
Are you asking the right questions often enough?
Are you role modeling honesty in your answers?
Are you seeking and celebrating insights in your team?