Be ready with smart questions not smart answers
When someone asks us a question or asks for our advice it is amazing how many times we really feel that we have to have the answer. As members of teams and people who lead teams we often think that we need to have the answer. Sometimes the opposite is true.
The most effective and successful people will not always just give you the answer but instead ask you really good and smart questions to help you get to the answer yourself. When you are told the answer easily by someone you don’t learn as much as you could if you found that answer for yourself.
We can use Stephen Covey’s wonderful thinking :-
“Seek first to understand then be understood .”
This is such a simple phrase yet if we apply it , it has a huge impact.
If you ask questions you can learn and then decide if your answer really was the best answer. Invaribly there is a better enhanced answer after a few open and inviting questions , This allows you to explore more, learn more and indeed get to a better result or solution. It opens us up to be innovative and get clarity of fresh new thinking which can create new ideas and thoughts.
As the world moves into more complexity and with even more change ahead we find ourslevs being a member of many teams. In those many teams we cannot possibly have all the answers or indeed keep up with ALL the changes needed. So we need to work together as a team to find the answers and ask smart questions to get us to the smart answers
For practical tips on asking questions, check out our previous post here.
Go ahead give it a go today, be ready with your smart questions and get to even smarter answers.
About the authors:
Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.
Their latest book ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions” is out now, published by Financial Times International. You can download a free chapter of the book at www.leadingteamsbook.com
Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”This book is a 21st-century guide on how to build a world-class team. I highly recommend it” Steve Siebold, Founder, Mental Toughness University, Florida USA.
