The Power of Asking a Great Question
If you are helping a client, colleague or team member with a problem, asking the right and relevant question will help guide the conversation. Don’t assume what has occurred. Ask specific questions to obtain the background information that will set the scene to enable you to be of assistance. Often you will find, when asking a series of questions to attain information, the individual that you are assisting will often resolve the issue themselves as they verbalize the background and the steps they have taken so far to resolve the issue.
It is not often the knowledge that is missing to prevent an individual from taking action; it is the motivation to follow through and execute on what is required to resolve the situation—working out how to encourage motivation to act and getting buy-in to execute increases the attainment of results. Possessing the self-confidence to take the next best step in a situation also often requires the ability to help an individual feel empowered to do so.
When a situation or challenge is shared, that is problematic, asking questions and eliciting ideas from the individual on how they feel the situation could be addressed. It can be as simple as ‘Do you have any ideas on how this issue could be resolved?’ or ‘Is there anything that you could do to help with xx?’ this will develop their capacity to see themselves solving the problem and building their resilience and responsibility muscles that in turn will increase their self-confidence
- Ask specific questions about the situation to obtain background information and question on what action they have taken to date to resolve the issue/challenge.
- Test the motivation of the individual to execute the action steps to resolve the issue/challenge.
- Ask individuals for their input, suggestions or ideas on how to solve a problem.
Executive coaching can bring you, your team, and your business support and elevated success, please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com or schedule a convenient time for a complimentary strategy session via Jenny Reilly Consulting Calendly.
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