I'm working on a good description of what I do for work.
The problem is that it's amorphous on the best of days. So far, the best I have come up with is:
I'm a professional question-asker.
The reason I have job security in the field of professional curiosity is that a breakthrough in a given issue is often hidden behind how it's discussed. Here's an example:
I meet with a potential client about their request for a workshop on change management for their team.
You may think a good question might be, "Why do you want a workshop on change management?"
But a common answer to this question is, "Because we're going through a change."
Yes... I see... quite intriguing. A change management training because you're going through change.
The lack of helpful insight from this potential client isn't because they lack the information I need. It's because I asked a poorly worded question.
Not only does the word "Why" cause defensiveness in the other person, but the question is just too broad to effectively answer. So, here's a list of questions I often ask and that illicit the phrase, "Oh, that's a good question." from the potential client.
- What is taking place that makes you think your staff needs additional training in change management?
- What are they doing/not doing?
- What have you tried to this point to meet the presenting need?
- What happened in those efforts?
- Let's pretend it's the day after I give the workshop to your team, and the session was exactly what they needed. What is happening now, after the training, that tells you it was successful?
- How will you know we've solved the problem?
- What will be different?
- What does "better" look like for the group? For you?
- If (enter logistical confusion) was clarified, how much of the conflict you're currently seeing would vanish overnight?
By asking questions in this way, the client and I can be curious about aspects of their problem that had, up until our conversation, been left up to assumption. It's remarkable how many initial calls asking for a workshop or leadership coaching shift into a completely different kind of service that is more precise and therefore effective.
Sometimes finding the breakthrough is a quick process with only a handful of questions. Other times, we need to schedule a few more calls until we get to the bottom of the problem. No matter the time it takes asking good questions, and working to answer them, can be a game-changing practice for how you look at future challenges.
