Written by: Pauline Morris, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
People come to me because they are stuck.
Stuck in the wrong role, stuck in the wrong environment, sometimes it’s both, they’re stuck in the wrong job and in the wrong place.
People get stuck when they have to make critical decisions personally and professionally. My job as a coach is to listen and ask the right questions to get them moving again.
As a team leader, your job is the same, using a variety of technical and non-technical skills in differing measures at different times.
Unfortunately, the art of asking the right questions doesn’t come high up the list of taught skills within leadership requirements. But whether your goal is to make the correct strategic business decisions, get your team working effectively and efficiently, or solve a systemic problem, you need to know how to ask the right questions to achieve the desired outcomes.
Asking strategic questions
There are 5 elements to strategic questioning.
The first element considers the structure of strategic questioning. The most useful and informative answers are almost always elicited in response to open-ended questions.
The second question to ask is whether you’ve given yourself and your team enough time to consider the problem/issue in its entirety. Often when presented with a dilemma, especially if it is deemed critical, the temptation to find the easiest and or swiftest solution can be overwhelming.
If you have made a decision, the third question is whether you and your team have truly analysed the problem from all vantage points. When we become experts in our field, we do lose an element of curiosity. Experience begins to hold pole position over knowledge-seeking and experimentation which can lead to the dreaded ‘fixation error’. Remember to think outside the box and be willing to let go of initial assessments and conclusions.
Fourth, be the devil’s advocate, and encourage others to do so, question all perspectives, solutions and consequences, respectfully of course. This means you and your team need to actively listen to each other’s thoughts and ideas without judgement. This will help to reduce groupthink within both cohesive and dysfunctional teams.
The fifth element ties 2, 3 and 4 together. Ask yourself, have you and your team genuinely considered the all answers that have been presented to you? Note, that’s a closed-ended question, they can be useful!
As a team leader, you need to observe and analyse problems and issues to facilitate dynamic and effective solutions, asking the right questions will get you and your team doing just that!
You can follow Pauline on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and can book a session through her website!
Pauline Morris, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Spanning several regions including the Caribbean, Middle East and the United Kingdom, Dr. Pauline Morris brings a wealth of experience as a leader within and outside of medicine, as a Consultant Anaesthetist and a Career Coach. After becoming a single mum at 17 and choosing a life of caring for others, she realised the true difficulties doctors face in attaining happy healthy lives, whilst providing a gold standard of care to their patients. As the founder of Doctors Caring for Doctors, a career coaching and support service for physicians, her mission is to help all doctors discover how they can have a fulfilling life and a successful career without burning out.
In crafting her own successful career as a physician and entrepreneur, she is well placed to help doctors who crave inspired solutions to the competing demands of a medical career and home life.
One of her greatest gifts is her ability to authentically connect with her clients, allowing them the space to find the complete clarity that leads them to their own unique path, emotional freedom, personal joy and professional achievement.
