Judge a leader by their questions rather than by their answers.
- Toby Sinclair (Inspired by Voltaire)
Great leaders ask great questions.
They ask these questions most of themselves, not only the people they lead.
To become a coach-like leader, I have spent over 10,000hrs practising the art of asking questions.
In doing so, I have asked many of these of myself.
Here are 5 questions that have inspired how I lead:
What’s the ONE Thing I can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
What am I chasing? Antelope or field mice?
If the worse case happens, how can I get back on track quickly?
What is it that needs doing, that I know something about, that probably won’t happen, unless I take responsibility for it?
What am I optimising for?
Here is why these questions work:
What’s the ONE Thing I can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
Inspired by Gary Keller - The One Thing.
I ask this question almost daily.
It works by focusing on subtraction rather than addition.
Less is often more.
What am I chasing? Antelope or field mice?
Inspired by Tim Ferris
I always have more problems than I can possibly solve.
It’s easy to chase the field mice. Small but easy problems.
I aim to find the courage to chase the antelope.
If the worse case happens, how can I get back on track quickly?
Inspired by Tim Ferris
Fear Setting is my favourite self-coaching tool.
It helps you recognise that our darkest fears
Are just stories in our minds.
What is it that needs doing, that I know something about, that probably won’t happen, unless I take responsibility for it?
Inspired by Buckminster Fuller
I’ve had this stuck on my monitor for the last 3 years.
I still don’t have a clear answer.
But I reflect on it daily.
What am I optimising for?
Inspired by Craig Larman
I mostly enjoyed Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) training for its focus on systems.
In particular, the optimising goal of adaptability.
I ask this question often.
It surfaces trade-offs and priorities.