The header of today’s blog is one by Stephen Covey’s, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In other words, before jumping to solutions, always strive to make sure are you are focusing on the right issue.

By mastering the art of effective questioning, we can become problem solvers, coaches, and leaders.

As a quick reminder, here are a few rules to follow:
Avoid questions that will result in a yes or no response
Avoid questions with hidden solutions
Avoid multiple choice questions

Ask open-ended questions:
What is your desired outcome?
What you have you already tried?
Why is this important to you?
What would this mean to you?
What are you willing to commit to?
As a leader, there exists the temptation to tell, talk too much, preach, etc. We need to be reminded that our intention is to change behavior and increase performance. People rarely change their performance by hearing us tell them what to do.

Let’s strive to have better questions, not better answers.