Having a productive conversation is at the heart of good leadership. There's a relatively new book out that is a terrific primer for a good heart-to-heart. It's called Fierce Conversations and is written by Susan Scott.
She serves up some great questions for discussions with colleagues and direct reports:
- What has become clear since last we met?
- What is the area that, if you made an improvement, would give you and others the greatest return on time, energy, and dollars invested?
- What is currently impossible to do that, if it were possible, would change everything?
- What are you trying to make happen in the next three months?
- What's the most important decision you're facing? What's keeping you from making it?
- What topic are you hoping I won't bring up?
- What area under your responsibility are you most satisfied with? Least satisfied with?
- What part of your responsibilities are you avoiding right now?
- Who are your strongest employees? What are you doing to ensure that they're happy and motivated?
- Who are your weakest employees? What is your plan for them?
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
Recent Comments | 8 Total
September 5, 2003 at 10:18pm by VJ
I believe that if an individual follows the following four competencies, he or she is following the right path towards being a competent leader:
• management of attention;
• management of meaning;
• management of trust;
• management of self.
September 6, 2003 at 10:49pm by Jeffrey Hicks
How much time should this take?
September 7, 2003 at 9:57am by Mark Zorro
Krishnamurti would be rolling over his ashes if he read Susan Scotts book. Here is the ultimate question for the questioning leader...(and it is more profound than any of the ones on the list)
"Tell me why I don't come up with my own questions".
M.
zorromark@consultant.com
(Mark Twain wasn't Mark Twain, Mark Zorro isn't Mark Zorro)
September 8, 2003 at 1:02am by J. Stanuszek
I had the good fortune to have picked up a copy for myself and even had an opportnuity to meet Mrs. Scott in person. I found the perspective of the book quite enlightening. I do, however, prefer to incorporate the content into my ongoing learning efforts. Each becoming a part of the greater whole in that the knowledge I aquire will hopefully lead to wiser and more profound decisions in my life.
Happy reading.
James Stanuszek
Perpetual Reader
September 8, 2003 at 9:58am by John A. Byrne
Regarding Jeffrey's question: The idea isn't to ask all these questions in one sitting. But to use them over time to get the right conversations going.
September 8, 2003 at 4:58pm by okala
I trully feel fulfilled when ever i have to read tru all this fine stuff every monig b4 going into d day.
Keep it up.
igweokala
September 10, 2003 at 10:00pm by anthony
Asking critical questions is an absolute to live by: indeed, asking the "deepest" question I can at any one poin in time, may even be the core of all "religious" questions.
Learning to trust the question is critical to one's own personal growth over time. Not to do so, and you pay for it over time!
Trust me on this one.
September 11, 2003 at 8:42am by Anonymous
In any collective, no one has all the answers, but together we have all the questions. Anthony says it's about learning to trust the question. Believe him.