After a recent conference call with several of my peers in Europe, a colleague emailed me with a compliment. “Every time I’m in a meeting with you, I always come out of that meeting a little smarter,” she said. I thanked her for her kind words, but I also reminded her that all I had done in our meeting was to ask questions. My colleague has now caught the art and discipline of asking great questions. I learned that art and discipline from my good friend, Bob Tiede.
Bob has contributed much to my own professional growth by helping me understand the power of great questions. He is a peer with no equal when it comes to harnessing the power of asking.
Great questions make us think. Great answers only reveal what we think. It isn’t often that I’ve heard “Now that’s a great question!” in response to something I have asked at work. But every time I’ve heard it, I’ve felt as if I am floating a few inches above my seat. It is a response that expresses appreciation (and sometimes admiration) for the question. It is a response that tells me that it is the question—not the answer—that illuminates.
I’ve come to learn that the greatest value I bring as Corporate Director of Learning at Emerson Electric (FORTUNE 130) is not in the answers I provide, but in the questions I ask. I work with some of the brightest business professionals anywhere. They bring deep knowledge from an array of disciplines to our conversations. I can’t match their knowledge, but I have discovered that a great question introduces a different component into discussions. Great questions can help teams expand their thinking or bring their discussions into sharper focus. A great question can help us identify new opportunities, clarify the root of a problem, or discover a new solution. A great question can help us challenge our assumptions or confirm our approach. Great questions can transform a discussion because great questions introduce wisdom.
A great question also can move people toward dialogue. Think about the difficult conversations we all need to have—high stakes, emotionally charged, when people have strong opposing opinions. Instead of driving people to the “shut down or shout down” response, a great question opens a path to real conversation.
Asking great questions takes skill. I’ve had the privilege of learning these skills from my interactions with Bob over the years. Since these are techniques he models every day, my learning was as much caught as taught. Now, Bob is generously sharing his expertise in his newest book. Read this book carefully, then share it with others. Grow and develop yourself and others to greatness by modeling the art and discipline of asking great questions. Make it your goal that at least once a week you hear someone say, “Now that’s a great question!”
If there was something you could do to increase the Leadership Effectiveness of all those in the shadow of your influence both at work and at home would you do it?
If so, then today is their lucky day!
You are invited to join the “Now That’s a Great Question Launch Team!” As a “Launch Team Member” you will receive “Shareable Copy” that you can post and email that positions the opportunity to download the “Now That’s a Great Question” eBook as a gift from you.
It’s a Win/Win!
Your Friends Will Win by increasing their leadership effectiveness x 10 both at work and at home as they move from leading by telling to leading with questions!
You Win! Because it’s coming from you – you will be the one they will be thanking for gifting them with this great new resource, helping them grow as leaders at work and at home! And you will be the beneficiary of a deepening relationship with all those in the shadow of your influence!
Please click “HERE” to join the “Launch Team!” Then be looking for our emails with your shareable social media and email copy that you will be able to simply “Copy – Paste – Post/Email.”
Special Bonus: in appreciation of all “Launch Team Members” who commit to sharing on social media and to emailing a minimum of 200 of their colleagues/friends/clients/prospects we will send you the printed version of “Now That’s a Great Question.” The printed version is not available for sale – only for “Launch Team Members!” (Offer to send the printed version is available for U.S.A. Addresses only)
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