Do you remember the Peter Sellers “Pink Panther” scene where he famously asks if the hotel manager’s dog bites? Right question, wrong dog. Unless leaders ask the right question to the right people, we will not get a result we are seeking. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and just plain Asking Questions are skills we all can be better at. We practice this in our monthly REF CEO Peer Groups in DFW.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui442IDw16o&w=560&h=315]
Q-Storming
In our monthly meetings, we spend time focusing on issues and opportunities that are important to our members. We do not spend time voicing our opinions, but rather we share experiences so we can learn from each other.
Instead of Brainstorming a solution to an issue, we do “Q-Storming” to make sure we are focused on the real issue. I first learned about Q-Storming from a book called “Change your Questions, Change your Life” by Marilee Adams and it makes a lot of sense. Q-Storming keeps Leaders from spending time looking for solutions to the wrong problem.
For example, if a worker has become unproductive recently, don’t try to figure out how you can replace them, figure out why they are not being productive. Seems simple enough but too many leaders just work to make the problem go away before they really understand what the real problem is.
“Find questions to your answers.”
A core value of REF is that we help you “Find questions to your answers.” This seems backward but we want to emphasize that having other people look at your issues and opportunities will help you see things you may have missed, and lead you to the best course of action. See how this can help you too?
Contact me with questions about being a part of a CEO Peer Advisory Group at (469) 269 – 5148 or RobertH@REFDallas.com
by Robert Hunt