ASKING BETTER QUESTIONS In our working environment we usually encounter situations that require our use of questions to bring

out the thoughts and intentions of others. For example, your direct has a tight deadline on a crucial project that she is managing and your prodding and encouragement has yielded no tangible results. You toy with the idea of suggesting solutions to your direct report. This will ensure that your unit meets the crucial deadline and get things done on time and within the budget. However, this in effect will impede the ability of your report to think, evaluate, and develop ideas while at the same time you end up carrying his or her load on your already overburdened shoulders. With the skillful use of questions you can help your report to think clearly and unleash their creative potential in their day to day work which will benefit your team and the organization as a whole. How can you use questions to achieve this? Here is a rough guide to ensure that you employ questions to unleash the creative juices of your reports, colleagues and managers. Ask the right questions By asking your reports for their ideas it sends out a message that you value their ideas and input and you do not operate on the premise that the boss knows best! This way the individual gains confidence and in turn becomes more competent in their work. Effective uses of questions help the individual to become a thinker and a problem solver. In the short term, the individual completes the task at hand and in the long term this helps them to develop the experience and skills to deal with a similar issue in the future. Examples of such questions are: Can you explain more about this?, to create clarity. Ask how are sales going?, instead of, Did you make your sales numbers?. This fosters a better working relationship. What are the consequences of taking such action or failing to?, this will help someone to think analytically and critically. Why did this work?, this inspires people to see things differently. What will you gain or lose if you showed more people how to use this software?, this will challenge peoples assumptions. Can we do this in another way?, this encourages breakthrough thinking. To help people own the idea, you can ask, Based on your experience with AIMS, ACCPAC, what do you think we should do?

Create a conducive culture All these questions cannot be asked in a culture that does not encourage people to use questions as a means of communication. To achieve this manager can let the subordinate know that their questions are welcomed and that you value their

queries. By fostering this culture the top management encourages their reports to use this technique with their reports. With the performance appraisals coming up in April, the managers and unit leaders can try and find out from their reports if they are developing this culture by asking during the face to face reviews, questions like, What was your best question in the last six months that brought tangible benefits? Benefits The use of questions creates alignment and eliminates ambiguity. By trying to solve problems through the effective use of questions, the leader in a team can get to know if the team understands the problem and if the team sees it as an item of priority. What not to ask Contrary to the popular belief that there are no bad questions, some questions may have a negative effect on your subordinates. There are three types of questions that we should make an effort to avoid using in our dealings with others. Questions that focus on the shortcomings of others, and why they cannot deliver on certain project or why they have not met their KPMs should be avoided. This forces people to take a defensive position and it alienates the subordinate hence eliminating the opportunities for success. Such questions are: Why are you behind schedule? Why havent you achieved your budget? Dont you know any better that that was bound to fail?

The other types of questions are leading questions. The usually place the person being questioned in a negative light and they put the person under a lot of pressure. They also tend to force agreement from the listener. They inhibit restrict the persons answers and inhibit honesty and the questions are not answered candidly. Such examples include: Dont you agree with the rest of the team that Obiero is the problem? You wanted to take on this project by yourself, didnt you?

The third and final type of questions, are closed questions. They make the subordinate feel like they are being interrogated. See the example below: What time is the meeting? Will you be through with our report by then? What else will you be doing? When can I get the draft in my inbox?

By asking direct reports the right questions you can help them develop the ability to solve problems and succeed in their jobs. Their creativity will not only reflect well on you but will impact the business positively and contribute to the overall success of the company.