Leaders need to keep their teams challenged. They don’t need to have all the answers; rather they need to ask the right questions and help their teams find the right answers and apply them.
Workers want purpose; they want to feel what they do is important and be challenged to grow. David Burkus, in Five Questions All Leaders Should Always Be Asking, identifies questions that help team members feel this way, knowing this inspires them to do their best work.
The questions are:
- What are our real priorities (or are we pursuing default activities)
- Where are our potential roadblocks (and what can we do about them)?
- What am I not hearing (that I need to hear)?
- Who isn’t being challenged (any more)?
- How is our motivation?
The next time you’re meeting with your team and the conversation is meandering, try asking these questions? Then share with us the impact so we can inspire others to do the same!