“My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.” – Peter Drucker
Of course this quote makes sense. It’s often the questions, especially when posed from an outsider’s perspective, that allow us to think more clearly and strategically about what we do.
Do we have to be an outsider to ask these questions? What if as a leader of an organization we helped our teams think by asking good questions? Invite your team to answer for themselves thoughts on the mission or your organization.
Here are some questions you might ask at the right times:
What are we trying to accomplish? What is the team goal? Can you help me understand that a little better? How can we make this better? What does that mean? How does that process work now? What challenges does that process create? What challenges has that created in the past? What are the best things about that process? What other items should we discuss? What do you see as the next action steps? What is your timeline for implementing this? What are your thoughts? Who else is involved in this decision? What could make this no longer a priority? What’s changed since we last talked? What concerns do you have? How did you get involved in…? What kind of challenges are you facing? What’s the most important priority to you with this? Why? What other issues are important to you? What would you like to see improved? How will you measure success?
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The Importance of the First Follower