You need insight. You need a question.
You’re facing tough problems in a complex context filled with uncertainty. You know change has to happen but you’re not sure where, or at least where to start. You need insight. You need to see the context in new ways to open new possibilities.
Well, the deepest insights often lie where the experts rarely look. They lie waiting in simple human stories. All they need is the right kind of question to draw them out. That’s your challenge — to find the question.
TIP: If your question can be answered with bullet points, try again. If the natural way to answer it is with a story, you’re on the money.
Poor questions are abstract. They…
- Focus on theory, system, structure or process.
- Start with how things ‘should be’.
- Look for ‘best practice’ somewhere else.
Poor questions will leave you with ‘points’ with little connection to actual experiences of actual people. That’s why I call these questions ‘(Unhelpfully) Abstract Questions’.
Great questions are grounded. They…
- Start with people.
- Look for stories.
- Approach challenges sideways.
Great questions will take you into the heart of experience and context. They ‘ground’ your search in real stuff. That’s why I call these questions ‘Grounded Questions’. [You can watch my TEDx talk on Grounded Questions here.]
So how do you find that grounded question? Let’s look at those three features of great questions again.
1. Start with people.
The bigger our businesses and organisations the more we need systems, structures and processes. But insights don’t come from these. In fact, the best systems, structures or processes come from the insight. So here’s the key: think actual experiences of actual people. Faces. Names. Characters. Experiences. Pride. Joy. Frustration.
A CEO had 50 slides ready to go to tell his people what culture they had to embrace. I asked him, “Who are you proud of?” Later he realised there was more insight in his own people than in all the theories behind his slides.
So think of the ‘brilliance in the room’ before worrying about ‘best practice elsewhere’.
2. Look for stories.
Stories aren’t just great ways to communicate an idea. Stories are how we are wired. Maybe we like neat theories and tidy spreadsheets. But real insights lie in the messiness of raw ordinary stories.
A power company struggled with generator reliability. Everyone thought it was the engineers’ problem. Everyone said it was too hard. I asked them, “When have you faced something this hard before … and cracked it?” “Safety!”, they said. That past experience created heart and suggested an alternative approach.
So think of what you can ask that will draw out a story.
3. Approach challenges sideways.
Insights lie in unexpected places. ‘Little’ places. My dad used to say “Big doors swing on little hinges”. To move something big we only need two ‘small’ things: like two people of good heart; or two acts of genuine kindness; or two great questions.
A school was full of problems and the bureaucrats wanted it fixed with programs. I asked the teachers, “Why did you become teachers?”. The next day I asked, “What do you really feel about the kids?” Those two questions unlocked a forgotten conversation by which the teachers turned the school around. [See the video.]
So step away from the obvious, and think ‘sideways’.
TIP: A true grounded question has people in it and is asked face-to-face. Make sure your question has ‘you’, ‘your’, ‘we’, ‘us’, or ‘our’ in it. If it’s got ‘they’, try again.
Study the differences.
Here are some examples of abstract/grounded questions. You can see all three features — people, stories, sideways — in the grounded questions:
- Abstract: “What culture do we need?”
- Grounded: “Who are we proud of?” or “Where do we see pride?”
- Abstract: “What’s the strategy?”
- Grounded: “What story do we want?”
- Abstract: “What’s the level of engagement?”
- Grounded: “How do our words and actions strengthen or weaken people?”
- Abstract: “What’s the market saying?”
- Grounded: “How can we enter our customers’ experience?”
- Abstract: “What’s our action list?”
- Grounded: “What one thing could we do to make a huge difference?”
- Abstract: “What are the principles of teamwork?”
- Grounded: “What are we afraid to ask or say or hear?”
Of course, it’s more than skill.
Great grounded questions start in humility, curiosity and respect. Be curious about people. Immerse yourself in their context. Look for their pride and joy. Look for what frustrates them. Start imagining a better story they could make with you.
What one question could turn your next meeting into a genuine conversation?
What question do you need to ask yourself, first?