The golden question for leadership teams
If teams ask this question more often and with genuine curiosity, good things will come. Photo by Antenna on Unsplash
I was recently meeting with a Chief Financial Officer before running a full-day workshop with his team. He was sharing that in many ways, his team was out "in the business". They were excellent and experienced practitioners who added immense value to each of the parts of the business that they supported.
It wasn't immediately clear during the conversation that there was a strong case for shifting this way of working. Each person was doing their job pretty well, they were busy and they were able to go about their work relatively independently. As we continued to explore, the Chief Financial Officer said something that was profound. I have shared it with many clients since and now I'm sharing it with you.
He said I think it's about asking...
"How can we make this team a valuable place for you to choose to be?"
I loved it then and I love it now.
If there is only one question that we could all ask in our teams, this would be it. Thankfully questions are infinite, so I'll never have to put that theory to the test! Here are some of the reasons that this question is so useful:
It acknowledges that each team member chooses how they contribute to the team. It is not about forcing people to work in a certain way, it's about the team being of service to each other.
The question balances the individual and the collective. The "we" is all of us as the team, the "you" is each individual. This tension is ever-present and worth keeping in mind.
There is an implied need for team members to commit their energy, attention and time to a successful team - a place that they choose to be.
Value is at the core of the question. Perhaps unsurprising coming from a CFO, but nonetheless, it's pragmatic. Acknowledging that the effort of operating as a team needs to be matched by the reward that it offers is important.
The question became the focal point of our workshop and has continued to serve the team. When I checked in again with the CFO recently, he described that the team had become more collectively productive. One tangible example that he shared is that the team are now adding value to each other by shifting their meetings from being an information sharing forum to one where they were able to share challenges with the team - and tap into the collective wisdom of their colleagues. More broadly, there has been an increased frequency of asking for help - which allows others to offer that support. The experience of both asking and offering is a demonstration of the value that each leader can derive from being a part of the team.
There are many ways that this could play out depending on the context of the team. Part of the beauty of this question is its versatility. If teams ask this question more often and with genuine curiosity, good things will come.
Here are a couple of questions for you to consider this week:
Ask this question in your teams - how can we make this team a valuable place for you to choose to be?
How would you know if your team was becoming a valuable place for members to choose to be?