A global threat should not be a reason to point fingers, to upsell, to market, to do brand awareness, to interrupt attention, to retract within our ideologies.
It should be an opportunity to come together and together bring the situation back to normality.
Can we do it?
Increasingly, the change we seek and want to bring about, the change to things we do not like or find unfair, is not a revolution led by a strong leader.
Examples such as #metoo and #blacklivesmatter show that change happens nowadays because of more or less spontaneous movements that find coordination and reach in the masses.
Change is less scary when it is not imposed, when it is shared, when it spreads horizontally.
As you go about your need for change, think: “how can I make it about the others?”.
What type of questions do you ask more often?
There’s the question that stops.
To answer this question, the other person needs to stop what they are doing, collect some type of information, and copy-paste it for your perusal. It’s often annoying to be asked this kind of questions. First, because the information requested is usually publicly available, or at least obtainable by the one asking with a little effort. Second, because it does not really add anything to our common knowledge of the world, as the responder is essentially moving information around.
Think about questions such as When did we agree the deliverable should be ready?, or Can you sum up your report in one sentence for my presentation?, or Can you send me the link to the latest version of the brochure?, or even Do you have the notes of the meeting we had yesterday?.
Then there’s the question that starts.
To answer this question, the other person needs to venture in unknown territory, do resarch, come up with ideas, network, draft a solution, scratch it, draft another one, ask for feedback, find out some more, and then attempt something. It’s both exciting and empowering to be asked this kind of questions. They put things in motion, they enhance your understanding of the world (and our common knowledge of it), and the responder actually ends up building some piece of information that was not anywhere before.
Think about questions such as How would you tackle this?, or What can we do to increase our sales by 20% next year?, or Would you help me with this problem I don’t seem to be able to crack?, or again What would you do if you would be in this position?.
Chances are, you get to ask both questions in your work.
The more you ask questions that stop, the more the work of your team will be fragmented, undirected, demotivating, dissatisfactory, unproductive, and task-oriented.
The more you ask questions that start, the more the work of your team will be fresh, exciting, unprecedented, necessary, sought after, and problem-oriented.
You are given a straightforward task: replacing the fences that surround the garden of four houses (A, B, C and D).
Some people would have a plan, a modus operandi, something they have refined with years of experience. And let’s say that their plan is to replace the fences of house A, then the fences of house B, then the fences of house C, and finally the fences of house D. The problem they are solving is replacing the fences.
Some people would go around the houses first, and take note of the fences that are in worst conditions. They would make some sort of list, and they would then perhaps start by replacing the fences in house B, then the fences in house D, then the fences in house C, and eventually the fences in house A. The problem they are solving is making sure that the fences do not fall, and perhaps even cause some damage to the gardens or to the people who live there.
Some people would go around the houses, take note of the fences that are at risk of falling off, provide a temporary fix to safeguard gardens and people (for example, to house B and house D), and then go about replacing the fences with the plan they have put to test in their multiple years in the field (A, then B, then C, then D). The problem they are solving is making sure the fences do not fall and cause harm, while at the same time being efficient in completing the task.
The problem you are out to solve is rarely as simple as you believe.
And by the way, which one of the above is your company?
If all you give your employees are tasks, you can certainly expect them to execute them, perhaps even a bit before the deadline and with a little less resources than originally planned, sometimes with some more effort than it would normally require.
Expectations, though, should not be extended to the quality of their work (it will meet specs, and that’s pretty much it) and on their commitment to finding new ways, establishing new relationships, solving new problems, identifying new interesting questions.
If all you give your employees are tasks, delivery is pretty much all you can ask in return. And that’s not something you can change with a clap of hands.
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