Questioning Your Way to Better Teamwork
Like to get your group working more collaboratively together as a team? You can! And one of the best ways to do that is to ask questions … EFFECTIVE questions.
Have you ever asked, “Why can’t we all be better at teamwork?” and received blank stares, head scratching, and even some finger pointing? A question like that is ineffective – it’s non-specific, negative, and backward (what’s wrong) focused. Ineffective questions typically cause people to roll their eyes, affix blame, and “circle the wagons” in defensiveness instead of creating and testing ideas and solutions. Effective questions are much different. They’re the “right” questions – ones that encourage people to focus on what they’ve done well in the past – and to use that information to help identify strategies for achieving today’s desired results.
Effective questions can be the single-most potent tool in any leader’s toolbox. They create a mindset shift away from problem orientation and limitations – and toward solution orientation and possibilities. Here are five examples of effective questions you can ask to encourage your people to work together better. Give them a try …
What are some things we do well when we work together as a team?
What are some things that worked well on other teams of which you have been a part? What specifically caused each of those to work?
What is our vision of excellent collaboration and teamwork … what does it look like?
How would each of us benefit if we lived that vision every day?
What can we do to move closer to that vision? What are each of us willing and committed to contribute?
Eddie Newall
