Today’s guest blogger is Mary Jo Asmus. Mary Jo is a friend and mentor, and I invited her to be part of this series because she is a highly skilled coach and has a gift for asking powerful questions. She has been a great influence on my own coaching approach and practice, and I am excited to connect you with her. For leaders committed to people-centered leadership, you need Mary Jo on the journey with you.
The following content is the property of Mary Jo Asmus and Aspire Collaborative Services LLC and is shared on this blog with her full approval. Any reproduction or use of this material without her consent is not lawful. If you like it and want to use it somewhere else, just ask her directly using the link at the bottom of the post.
They’ll love your questions
Someone who reports to you has a problem they want to solve, and they say they need your help solving it. A little bit of adrenaline kicks into your brain because you love to solve problems, and you can’t wait to hear more.
Stop and think deeply now. How will solving their problem help THEM over the long haul?
You might notice that the really smart and talented people who report to you don’t want your advice, even when they ask for it. How many times have you given your solutions and watched them walk away and actually use the recommendations you gave them? Ok, maybe they have, but they do so with little enthusiasm.
They really don’t want your advice. Even if they accept it, they do so begrudgingly. If they use it, they will use it reluctantly.
Do you really want those talented people who are brimming with oodles of untapped potential to go about their days doing what you tell them because you’re the boss (and they feel like they have to)?
Consider this: If you ask the right questions in the right way, they can figure out what they need to figure out for themselves. They’ll like their own solutions so much more than yours. Their creativity and intuition will kick in. They’ll become motivated. They’ll learn.
They’ll love your questions. If they are driven, smart, talented and want to learn, give them questions instead of solutions.
If you see the sense in this, you’ll need to exercise that question-asking part of your brain because you’ve been solving everyone’s problems all these years.
The way to start is to keep a few questions handy that seem to work to get people’s thinking juices started. Here are some you can start with.
To help them brainstorm solutions:
- What will that look like when you’re done?
- Where are you at with that right now?
- What’s the gap between where you are at right now and where you want this to be?
- How will you fill that gap?
To get them thinking about taking action:
- What’s the first step you will take?
- What’s your next step?
- What are you willing to try?
- What will keep you from doing that?
- When can you start?
- If you were courageous, what would you do?
To get them to commit:
- What are you committing to over the next (hour, day, week, etc.)?
- When can you do that?
- What will keep you from doing that?
- How can I help?
- When should we assess your progress?
When they are really stuck:
- What’s stopping you?
- What does your (head or heart) tell you to do?
- What assumptions are you making about that?
When they did what they said they’d do with great success:
- What did you do well?
- What surprised you about what you did?
- What did you learn from that experience?
- What’s your next step?
When you don’t have enough information to even ask a question:
- Can you say more about that?
Try questions in place of problem solving and watch how smart and driven your employees (and you) become!
Did Mary Jo’s words resonate with you? Here is how you can continue to benefit from her wisdom on your leadership journey. Learn more about her executive coaching and leadership development services at www.aspire-cs.com and when you sign-up for her leadership blog/newsletter you receive a copy of her free ebook, Working with Your Executive Coach. Mary Jo is an award-winning blogger and a Professional Certified Coach.