The success of every civilization, whether in terms of spirituality, humanity, inventions, and discoveries can be mapped out by the quality of the questions asked. Every transformational leader uses questions to drive the strategic dialogue with his or her teams.
Questions include:
– What are we doing today and why now?
No strategic way forward can be defined unless we first establish the current status.
– How does that align with our goal?
Every activity defined in your scope of work should bring you closer to the organizational goal
– What has changed in the last little while?
This question will force your team to re-assess the situation at hand, uncover changes, and make the necessary course adjustments to respond to the changing environment.
– What does a Wow success look like for our team?
This question creates a conduit from your present situation to your desired future state.
– What can we do? What are our options?
Every solution offered by your team, however seemingly insignificant, can play a critical part in adding another facet to the situation or prompt another set of solutions.
– What else can we do to achieve more, better, faster?
The term ‘what else’ challenges your team to think more, do more and do it more efficiently and effectively.
– How would this solution change us?
Once you have defined the desired state, this question further clarifies the impact of that state in terms of benefits and outcomes for each team member.
The more proficient you get in asking the right questions, the better placed you are to drive success for your team and your organization. The success of every worthwhile endeavour can be attributed to the quality of the questions asked. Thus effective leaders use questions to drive results.