{"id":144,"date":"2018-10-12T10:55:55","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T10:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danielvlopes238992071.wordpress.com\/2018\/10\/12\/our-most-underrated-leadership-tool-specific-questions\/"},"modified":"2023-02-26T17:24:34","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T01:24:34","slug":"our-most-underrated-leadership-tool-specific-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canopy.is\/blog\/2018\/10\/12\/our-most-underrated-leadership-tool-specific-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Our most underrated leadership tool: Specific questions."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Of all the tools for effective leadership we think we need\u200a\u2014\u200aa good system for tracking progress, or clear metrics around hiring\u200a\u2014\u200aspecific questions are our most underrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask the right question\u2026 and you\u2019ll learn that your company\u2019s most valuable employee doesn\u2019t feel challenged by her work and is thinking about leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask the wrong question\u2026 and you\u2019ll hear the same employee tell you she enjoys the work environment and is confident about executing her work. You only learn she\u2019d been considering leaving when she gives you her two weeks’ notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greatest example of a \u201cwrong question\u201d is one I found myself asking to others early in my career:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nine times out of ten, the other person\u2019s response would be\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fine. Things are going fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What an empty response! But it\u2019s because I asked an empty question. \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d could not be a more run-of-the-mill, vague question to ask someone. So I got a run-of-the-mill, vague response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask a general, half-hearted question, and you\u2019ll get a general, half-hearted response. Ask a specific, carefully thought-out question, and you\u2019ll get a specific, carefully thought-out response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more specific the question, the more specific the response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sounds easy and obvious enough. Yet in practice, it can be tough to come up with specific questions \u201con the spot\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aespecially if you\u2019re asking questions in-person during a one-on-one or over lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few tactics to help you ask more specific questions that will yield specific answers\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pick one thing.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you ask a question like, \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d, you provide no context for which a person is supposed to answer. You\u2019re essentially asking a person to consider their entire time at the company, and deliver an eloquent, precise answer summarizing exactly how they feel about it. It\u2019s no wonder people always answer, \u201cIt\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To provide more context in your question, ask about \u201cone thing.\u201d As a result, you\u2019re not asking someone to consider or talk about all things\u200a\u2014\u200ajust one thing. It makes answering your question much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try saying this<\/strong>: \u201cWhat\u2019s one thing that could\u2019ve gone better?\u201d<\/em> or \u201cWhat\u2019s one thing that frustrated you?\u201d<\/em> or \u201cWhat\u2019s one thing you\u2019re surprised is working as well as it is?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anchor your question in an event.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can uncover a lot more depth about how someone feels about the company if you use an event as the focal point of your question. For example, if you\u2019re curious if the leadership team is communicating well with employees, ask an employee about the last all-company meeting. It could be a question like, \u201cWhat else should have been brought up by the leadership team at our last all-company meeting?\u201d<\/em> Doing so can be more revealing than just asking, \u201cWhat could the leadership team improve?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, say you\u2019re curious to know about an employee\u2019s relationship with her manager. A question like, \u201cDuring your last project, what hiccups or struggles did you encounter while working with your manager?\u201d<\/em> is much more specific than simply asking, \u201cHow\u2019s it going with your manager?\u201d<\/em>. A question around a concrete, tangible event will help a person mentally reference that in their head, and provide a much more meaningful answer to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try saying this<\/strong>: \u201cWhat\u2019s something we totally missed talking about during our last meeting?\u201d<\/em> or \u201cWhile you were on your last project, what did you observe that you felt were slow or inefficient?\u201d<\/em> or \u201cWhat could have been improved about the most recent product release we did?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time-box your question.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Possibly my favorite way to ask a specific question is to time-box the question to a specific period of time. For instance, rather than asking, \u201cWhat do you think we could improve on?\u201d<\/em> you should ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s something in the last two weeks could we have improved on?\u201d<\/em> By asking someone to reflect on the last two weeks, you narrow the scope of what they need to consider to answer your question well. All of a sudden, it\u2019s easier for that person to recall something interesting, pinpoint a specific insight, and share it with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try saying this<\/strong>: \u201cWhat\u2019s something last week that could be better?\u201d<\/em> or \u201cWhat\u2019s been most motivating for you to work on this past month?\u201d<\/em> or \u201cWhat\u2019s annoyed you this quarter? It can be big or small\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever caught yourself thinking to yourself, \u201cMy employees never tell me anything,\u201d<\/em> now you know that the solution might lie in questions you\u2019re asking, themselves. And the remedy is simpler than you might\u2019ve thought:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specific questions yield specific answers. General questions yield general answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which are you<\/em> asking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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