Great Questions

The longer I work with teams in organizations, the more I realize the power of asking the right questions. Here’s a sampling from Bob Tiede’s Great Leaders Ask Questions ebook.

General questions for meeting with a client, customer, team member, or employee: 1) What is going well? 2) What’s not? 3) Where are you stuck? 4) What needs to change?

Helping a group get unstuck in brainstorming: How can we do this in a way that guarantees its failure? (After making this list): What, then, do we need to do to guarantee its success?

Connecting with somebody the first time: Would you please tell me your story?

Great manager question #1: What can I do to help you be more effective?
Great manager question #2: What can I do to make your life easier?
Great manager question #3: Who needs to be encouraged?

Asking the second question can be a transformational move — good general ones: What else did you learn? Can you please tell me more?

Change management questions: What do you like least about this [organization/group]? What do you like most about it? What is one thing you would change if you could?

Leadership is about opening doors for people.” (Powerful insight)

Getting clarity about the work: What outcome are we looking for:? What might the solution be?

Ask “why” about a problem 5 times.

Avoiding victim-mentality: What/How/Where/Who/When can I do/help/see/try/learn/pursue/act?

What is one thing you know you need to do to remove an energy drain, and when will you do it?

What do you want to work on? Where do you want to go? What are 4 options that could get you from here to there? What hurdles should you anticipate?

What’s missing?

What is most energizing about your work? What is inhibiting your success?

What’s something that would be impossible to do, but if you could do it, would dramatically increase your success? What would make it possible?

End a conversation with a question.

What questions are you asking yourself?

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