Organizational Development Consultant and Leadership Coach

The power and importance of questions

August 1, 2018

The Harvard Business Review highlights the importance and power of questions in two recent articles.  I highly recommend them both.

Better Brainstorming suggests we focus on questions, not answers, for breakthrough insights. Better questions can lead to answers that challenge deeply held assumptions, and make it easier to push past biases and venture into unchartered territory.

https://hbr.org/2018/03/better-brainstorming

The Surprising Power of Questions talks about the importance of questioning as a skill to be honed, and as a tool for unlocking value in companies.  It spurs learning and the exchange of ideas, fuels innovation and performance improvement and builds Continue reading

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Nineteen Techniques to Gather Information: #19 Road Shows

August 8, 2014

“We need to make significant changes in our organization in order to successfully compete in the future. Our leaders have a fair idea of the challenges we face, but we’d like to gather input from the employees in some way that will help us gain a full picture of our issues and opportunities, and also start to mobilize the organization for the changes ahead. What is the most effective way to accomplish this?”

#19 Road Shows

What are Road Shows?

While most meetings involve a smaller number of participants, Road Shows can involve whole departments, divisions or geographical locations Continue reading

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Nineteen Techniques to Gather Information: #18 SWOTs

August 2, 2014

“We want to set goals but we can’t agree how or where to focus our efforts. We all have our favorite areas, but there must be a better way. We need a method for gathering information so that we can get the most mileage for our efforts. What do you suggest?”

#18 SWOTs

What are SWOTs?

SWOTs help you gather information for strategic planning and other goal setting meetings. SWOT information (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) provides data to accurately determine your group’s current performance. A group can mean any organization and/or team, unit, department, Continue reading

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Nineteen Techniques to Gather Information: #17 5 Whys

July 28, 2014

“Sometimes I feel as though we haven’t done a very good job at getting to the bottom of a problem. Is there a quick technique to identify the core cause of a relatively simple problem?”

#17   5 Whys

What is 5 Whys?

5 Whys is a technique for getting to the core source of problems in minimum time.   Research shows that to get to the core of a problem one will need to ask the question “Why?” an average of 5 times. 5 Whys involves asking this basic question until your meeting group is satisfied that the root Continue reading

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Nineteen Techniques to Gather Information: #16 New Shoes

July 24, 2014

“Participants in our meetings sometimes ask themselves `Is anybody listening?’ This tends to happen especially during heated debates. How can I be sure that people are truly listening, and that everyone feels that they have been listened to?”

#16 New Shoes

What are New Shoes?

The New Shoes technique helps ensure that people in your meeting groups are listening, understanding, and can explain the other perspectives being presented in the room. This is accomplished by asking participants to summarize what they heard to the satisfaction of the people who originally presented an idea or point of view.

This process Continue reading

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Nineteen Techniques to Gather Information: #15 Working Break

July 20, 2014

“Sometimes my participants use meeting time to discuss private, one-on-one issues that don’t include the rest of the group. How can I prevent this from happening?”

#15 Working Break

What is Working Break?

Working Break is a technique that provides your meeting group with a designated period of time for addressing private, one-on-one issues during the meeting without wasting the time of the other participants. This is a short, informal time specifically set aside in the meeting to take care of private and/or small group business. It also allows for stretching and refreshing beverages.

The reality is Continue reading

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Nineteen Techniques to Gather Information: #14 Keep/Throw

July 15, 2014

“Our group is planning for the future. We know we need to change, but some of the things we are doing are good and shouldn’t be changed.   Is there a technique for helping us get rid of the bad and keep the good?”

#14 Keep/Throw

What is Keep/Throw?

Keep/Throw provides a process for a group to agree on what is working and should continue to be done, and what is not working and should be discontinued or changed.

When planning for the future, radical changes are sometimes needed to meet the new goals. In this situation, Continue reading

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Nineteen Techniques to Gather Information: #13 Prouds and Sorries

July 12, 2014

“Our group has been through a lot together and we’ve developed some serious emotional energy about how we worked with each other in the past. It’s difficult to articulate exactly what all the issues are, but I want to use this energy and past experience to help us in the future. What do you suggest?”

#13 Prouds and Sorries

What are Prouds and Sorries?

The Prouds and Sorries technique constructively addresses both the positive and potentially negative emotional issues facing your meeting group. Because emotional issues can heavily impact the effectiveness of any group, it is imperative Continue reading

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Nineteen Techniques to Gather Information: #12 Content Experts

July 9, 2014

“Sometimes our group needs to hear from experts in various fields in order to understand more about a technical issue. But whenever we have an expert come in to talk, things never go as planned. They either talk over our heads, talk too long, or totally miss the point we are seeking. How can I work more effectively with these people?”

#12 Content Experts

What are Content Experts?

Content Experts allow you to gather information on a specific subject from someone who does it for a living, studies it for a living, or uses it Continue reading

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Nineteen Techniques to Gather Information: #11 Project Flowcharting

July 4, 2014

“We want to make improvements to our processes but we don’t know where to begin. How can we gather information about what is happening with a process that goes through many hands and even many departments?”

#11 Process Flowcharting

What is Process Flowcharting?

Process Flowcharting is a technique for identifying, documenting, and analyzing all the steps in an existing process, and then looking for methods to improve that process. Process in this situation is defined as any series of progressive and interdependent steps to achieve an end result.

People often don’t recognize all the Continue reading

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