The other day one of my coaching clients asked me for some questions...
…she can use with her staff so that she could pivot from the answer person to helping her staff find the answers on their own. We had such a great discussion. These five questions rose to the top for her and I thought I would share them with you so you can try them as well.
To help your staff discover new possible actions or to move them toward their intended objectives, try asking these five powerful questions:
What must happen?
What specific, interim outcomes should be accomplished in the timeframe to achieve your employee’s ultimate objective? Depending on the objective, this could be the next day, week, or month.
Why do you think so?
Examine reasons for their selection of interim outcomes. Are there more important or more urgent outcomes they are overlooking?
How might that be accomplished?
Explore a number of approaches and alternatives with your staff. Keep exploring until all known options are exhausted and begin to create new ones. Encourage them to select actions from the list that will help them achieve the interim or partial outcomes.
Who will perform the tasks?
Who will/should/could be the one(s) to do it? Is it them or should they delegate the action to someone else or request a colleague to do it?
When must this be accomplished?
Help them set specific dates of completion for each of their objectives.
Responses to these five questions will form a plan to help staff realize their objectives. This will also unlock new creative pathways and help your staff achieve their goals.
Work with me
I love watching leaders grow, especially when they let go of a habit that isn’t serving them or their staff. If you’re looking to do the same, click here and pick a time so we can talk.