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ALL AGREE THAT QUESTIONS ARE THE ULTIMATE EMPOWERMENT TOOL"
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The leader of any organization is seen as the strongest and wisest of them all, ready to protect his flock, ready to tackle every problem or challenge that lies ahead, ready to take everyone to the Promised Land. In very cosmopolitan cities like Shanghai and Beijing, the duties of the manager take on even greater proportions given the very diverse cultural and ethnic mix of the staff. Even among the local Chinese staff, the values and work ethic will vary considerably depending on the city and province he or she was brought up. How then, does the effective leader lead his flock?
Claude Levi-Strauss French anthropologist Leadership gurus all agree that questions are the ultimate empowerment tool. Yet, the desire and ability to ask probing and telling questions is sometimes the last thing on a leader's mind. Why is this so? The leader (or work-in-progress leader in this case) incorrectly assumes that answers must drop from his or her hat whenever asked. These yet-to-bloom leaders feel that leaders lead with answers. However, nothing could be further from the truth as researchers have found that the best and most successful leaders lead with questions! Why then, should a leader lead with questions? Questions have the amazing power to: Empower staff to think. When staff member turns to the leader for answers and help, the leader who answers the question with a probing question does the entire organization a great favor. Everyone will soon learn to answer their own questions before approaching the leader for help and in doing so, solutions appear from all quarters of the organization, and not just from the leaders at the top. More often than not, the most innovative ideas come from the staff as they have their fingers on the pulse of an issue. Create a learning culture to ensure organizational success. In his landmark book, Good to Great, best-selling author and management expert Jim Collins said that the only way for organizations to grow and continue growing is to become a learning organization. And the key to becoming |
a learning organization is for her leaders to ask questions instead of providing answers and solutions all the time. Ensure that the right question is eventually answered.How often are leaders guilty of answering a question with whatever’s at the tip of their tongues? By asking questions to seek clarity, the leader ensures that the correct question and correct issue are being addressed. The next question that is frequently asked is what is a good and empowering question, and what is a bad question? There are essentially two ways to ask good questions. Ask open-ended questions.These questions provoke a response that go beyond a simple yes or no answer. For example, instead of asking, "Do you think this product will do the job for the client?"; ask, "How will this product help our client?"; or "In what way will this product help our client?". The second and third questions immediately force the person asking to start thinking with greater depth and quality of thought. The first question just makes him answer yes or no! Ask questions that empower.All too often, poorly constructed questions put the other party on the defensive. These questions start with why ("Why did you do that?", or "Why didn’t you do that?"). The empowering question will instead ask how or what, e.g.,
Anthony Robbins, the world's leading peak performance coach summed it up best when he said, "Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers." If you like this article, then you will love our Leadership Workshop for corporate management level. Contact us and we will get back to you immediately to discuss your requirements. |
| Jeff Tan is an entrepreneur and business owner of both REV Training & Coaching and Ch’i Life Studio Shanghai, but his true passion and calling is to help others as they journey through life. With his unique ability to help people discover and understand their purpose in life, he has helped countless live the life they love using the tools of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. Before starting his own businesses, Jeff served for 26 years with distinction as a helicopter pilot and flight instructor with the Republic of Singapore Air Force, rising to the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel. Jeff is a licensed NLP trainer, having received his certification from Dr Richard Bandler, the founder of NLP. In addition, he holds a Master of Social Science degree in Counselling from the University of South Australia, and is a professional Clinical Hypnotherapist with the Institute for Advanced Neuro-Research and Education in the USA, as well as being a certified PhotoReading Whole Mind System instructor. |
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