"It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question." -- Eugène Ionesco, born Eugen Ionescu,(November 26, 1909 - March 29, 1994) was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist
How often have you worked with someone that has difficulty opening up and sharing their thoughts, or when they do, they respond only using one or two words? These responses will likely not provide you with the ability to build relationships or obtain sufficient levels of information needed to attain desired results.
Using open ended questions that begin with "how" "when" "where" "what" and "tell me" is a good start to better understand feelings around work activities, personality preferences and what individuals are passionate about. This is especially effective when working with new team members, and when working with difficult individuals that don't always choose to share what they are thinking.
In Difficult People At Work - How To Cope, How To Win by Arthur Bell and Dayle Smith, here are 10 questions that will help you learn more about your team members:
1. Tell me about a challenge you faced in a previous job.
2. How do you like to be managed?
3. Where do you want to find yourself in a year? Three years? Ten years?
4. What kind of people rub you the wrong way in work situations?
5. How do you deal with the stress of deadlines?
6. What types of work bring you the most satisfaction?
7. Tell me what you liked and didn't like about your previous job?
8. What matters most to you in your professional life?
9. How can you make the team stronger?
10. What skills or abilities can we help you develop?
Using these types of questions will help you get to know individuals on a deeper level and are guaranteed to elicit more than just a nod, shrug or simple "yes/no" response!
"Life is now in session; are you present?" - B. Copeland
We all know open-ended questions are designed to elicit descriptive responses and to foster a more robust and complete exchange of information.
The questions we need to ask ourselves (and answer) are:
How often have you worked with someone that has difficulty opening up and sharing their thoughts, or when they do, they respond only using one or two words? These responses will likely not provide you with the ability to build relationships or obtain sufficient levels of information needed to attain desired results.
Using open ended questions that begin with "how" "when" "where" "what" and "tell me" is a good start to better understand feelings around work activities, personality preferences and what individuals are passionate about. This is especially effective when working with new team members, and when working with difficult individuals that don't always choose to share what they are thinking.
In Difficult People At Work - How To Cope, How To Win by Arthur Bell and Dayle Smith, here are 10 questions that will help you learn more about your team members:
1. Tell me about a challenge you faced in a previous job.
2. How do you like to be managed?
3. Where do you want to find yourself in a year? Three years? Ten years?
4. What kind of people rub you the wrong way in work situations?
5. How do you deal with the stress of deadlines?
6. What types of work bring you the most satisfaction?
7. Tell me what you liked and didn't like about your previous job?
8. What matters most to you in your professional life?
9. How can you make the team stronger?
10. What skills or abilities can we help you develop?
Using these types of questions will help you get to know individuals on a deeper level and are guaranteed to elicit more than just a nod, shrug or simple "yes/no" response!
"Life is now in session; are you present?" - B. Copeland
We all know open-ended questions are designed to elicit descriptive responses and to foster a more robust and complete exchange of information.
The questions we need to ask ourselves (and answer) are:
- Are we taking the time to deliberately ask open ended questions?
- Are we effectively leveraging this tool and, therefore, learning more about those around us?
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