Sometimes the answer is in the question.
Asking the right question is often more powerful than coming up with the right answer. We use particular questions to provoke thinking, creativity, insight and, most importantly, new dialogue. The questions below are designed to provoke multiple—and new—responses each time they are asked.
Regarding your mandate:- In what direction do you see taking your organization? What are you building?
- Can you see the way from here to there?
- In what direction are your leveraged leaders taking your organization? How do you know?
- What, if anything, would make the biggest difference to fully realizing what you intend to build?
- Which groups and individuals are currently engaged in the future you are building? Which groups would you like to be more engaged?
- If the greatness of your organization were fully expressed and pursued, what impact would you be having and where?
- Are the people in your organization clear about how fulfilling the organization’s mandate is fulfilling their own interests and commitments?
Regarding developing leadership capacities:- What capacities do you and your leaders have that will be instrumental in realizing the organization’s mandate?
- Which skills and competencies would make a significant difference to obtain or develop, if any?
- How much time do you dedicate to forging the future?
- If being a leader was a natural outcome of working for your organization, what would the organization be known for?
- Who are you grooming to lead the next evolution of your organization? Why them?
Regarding setting an environment for extraordinary results:- In what ways does your environment call for outstanding achievement?
- From your view, what, if anything, needs to be different?
- What outcome, if accomplished, would have this year be extremely successful and satisfying?
- In what significant area or areas of your organization would a breakthrough have a highly leveraged impact on the future of your company?
- What alliances, if built, would ensure the future? (internally with other colleagues, other divisions, externally with clients and customers, with vendors/suppliers, even with competitors)
- What impossible outcomes are worth going for?
Regarding your own learning and development:- What have you been tolerating?
- What keeps you up at night?
- If you take the case you have trained the people around you in how to interact with you, what have you trained them for?
- If you could change one and only one thing about your organization, what would it be? What are you waiting for?
- Who or what have you given up on?
- What communication have you been intentionally avoiding?
- If you look back in your career was there a time when you were so passionate about what was possible you couldn’t wait to get out of bed in the morning and go to work? What was it about yourself, your job, your life that had you be so enthusiastic?