When done in the right way, challenge is incredibly positive
How do questions or challenges make you feel? Do you welcome the challenge and see it as an opportunity to confirm your thoughts, discuss your perspective and validate your ideas? Or do you feel it is a personal attack and become defensive, withdrawn or irritated?
Do you worry when people don’t ask questions on your approach? Do you think they don’t care, aren’t interested or maybe don’t like your proposal but are uncomfortable speaking out?
How we react in these situations can influence our behaviours, our relationships and our performance.
In a coaching conversation today my client responded “I’m glad you challenged me to say that” in response to a simple question, “what do you want to achieve?”. That seemingly simple question allowed them to consider the future and frame it as an outcome, their goal. It helped them frame their thinking in a way that will be more effective and impactful to share and communicate with their team.
Consulting and coaching is all about questioning. From the start of my career, and even before that in my childhood and schooling, I have always asked questions. It is the foundation for business analysis, business architecture and strategy. I question to understand. I question to improve ideas and create better solutions. And I question to help you to understand yourself, your options and your path to success.
When done in the right way and with good intentions, questioning can transform performance for both individuals and teams. Being open and positive to being asked questions has the potential to help you to grow and improve what you do and how you do it.
So go on, be curious, ask more questions, and find the potential to improve.