Today’s leaders must revisit a neglected skill: asking questions.
Leaders often think that what employees seek from themselves is the answer, which can give employees confidence in their leadership abilities.
However, this kind of leadership can actually damage trust, especially in this highly uncertain period. Do you think you know the answers to all important questions?
If so, then you either know nothing, don’t know how fast the world is changing, or you are lying. Neither of these situations will allow you to gain the trust of employees.
Leaders should ask enlightening questions, admit that they have no answers, and ask everyone to help answer the questions. This method makes the leaders who I communicate with feel uneasy: Does this make them appear to have no idea what they are doing?
On the contrary, research has shown that showing weakness and seeking help will make others feel strongly that you trust them, so you can gain the trust of others. Learning to ask good questions can help you connect with others. Thinking with others can help solve difficult problems and stimulate creativity.
Ask the “big question”
Explain: I am not asking you to ask targeted questions, such as “How to improve work efficiency by 10%?” “Is there something missing here?” Leaders need to ask questions that will prompt everyone to discuss major new opportunities that the organization has not yet discovered, such as:
● Are there any new opportunities that can change the overall structure and enable us to create more value than before?
● Do our customers have any new unmet needs that are sufficient to serve as the basis for a new business?
● How do we use third-party resources to meet a wider range of customer needs?
● How do we shift from standardized and popular products and services to providing personalized products and services for each customer’s specific needs?
● How do we make the supply network more flexible to respond to accidents in production or logistics?
● How can we use sensor technology to further understand how customers use products, and then use this information to provide customers with more value and deepen their trust in us?
Focusing on such major new opportunities, rather than organizing existing events, can also help you overcome the worry that asking questions might appear incompetent, because you can’t know the answers to such questions.
This kind of broader question can also make you appear ambitious, and it seems that you want to lead the organization to the next level. You can also come up with some information to introduce long-term trends related to the problem-such as emerging technologies that may open up new opportunities, or demographic changes that may cause customers to have new unmet needs.
Involve others
Ask others to discuss questions. In order to give full play to the effectiveness of the question, do not ask questions in the leadership internal meetings. Let the entire organization and even people outside the organization hear your questions. It’s not just that you ask your employees a question, but your brand strives to seek consumer opinions. Don’t be confined to the inside of the organization, contacting external professionals and more diverse perspectives can help your company learn faster.
For example, Domino’s Pizza. I learned ten years ago that some customers didn’t like Domino’s pizza. Many companies will hide this negative information, or quietly solve the problem. Domino’s took a different approach: it made the feedback it received public and asked for suggestions for improvement. This open question has received a lot of answers and has played a huge role in improving the quality of pizza.
But in addition to the success in innovation, this measure has had an impact on a more fundamental level: I think Domino’s has built trust with customers by showing weakness. The company is willing to confess that it has encountered a problem and ask customers for help in order to solve the problem. If more companies are willing to ask customers and other stakeholders for help when they encounter problems, they can better rebuild trust.
Change corporate culture
In turbulent times, employees may be very anxious, and leaders raising such questions can help employees to eliminate some of their worries to some extent. The field of psychology has concluded that being with other people can reduce anxiety-this is the theoretical basis of group therapy.
Achieving practical results can also ease the feeling of being overwhelmed. Your questions help employees focus on short-term activities that can be carried out together, and have a calming effect during the crisis.
When a leader asks a question, it also shows that the question is very important. It can encourage employees to take the initiative to discover new opportunities and ask for help when needed.
Such a move can shape a corporate culture that values learning. This is very important because organizations that encourage each employee to learn quickly and achieve greater value for stakeholders can succeed in the future.
Encourage to explore new perspectives and find all possible answers to questions, instead of just seeking perfect answers, the effect will be better. This can encourage employees to make small attempts, see the progress of the discussion quickly, and thus become more enthusiastic about the discussion. If you have a preliminary answer (such as experiment or research results), even if it is not a breakthrough, you should share it in time. This approach is conducive to the development of a learning culture, allowing stakeholders to see that your problem inspires new perspectives, and thus more confidence in your approach.
Leaders who can ask good questions can not only seize new opportunities, but also deal with unexpected challenges, and have established a good organizational culture to continue these benefits.
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