๐ฉโ๐ผ๐จโ๐ผ Leaders Letter 168 - The 5๏ธโฃ Simple Questions To Ask This Week To Improve Prioritisation & Performance
Ask Better Questions & More Often To Improve Work & Performance
Dear leaders, this week I am introducing 5 questions to clarify situations and remove ambiguity.ย ย
These questions are basically my frequently asked questions from the last three months, the questions come from recent conversations, coaching sessions and helping leaders with personal development questions from expert calls.ย ย
For when meetings and performance arenโt flowing:
Ask: What context am I/are we missing?
Why: Simple questions and stopping poor meetings to gain realignment are criticalย
For when you need deeper feedback loops:
Ask: What is your analysis here?
Why: It is critical it is not first opinions or thoughts. The analysis framing allows people to dive into issues and create compelling arguments for both sides.ย
For when ruthless prioritisation is required:
Ask: If we were to stop this activity today what negative impact would it have?
Why: Most people default to more and have a bias for doing more, being ruthless and clearly calling out tasks will reduce strain and cognitive load on teams.ย
For when to understand output at a greater level:
Ask: what is x's performance like over the last nine months?
Why: Results are often too binary. Performance allows you to understand the wider impact and uncover the deeper actions and decisions taken.ย
For when to understand performance and productivity:
Ask: What expectations do you have for this project? And how are you prioritising your tasks within this project?
Why: When performance is struggling and when team members feel stretched autopilot kicks in and many team members just start, very often understanding the required steps are missed out and prioritises these tasks are overlooked and underappreciated.ย
This weekโs focus action is to ask these 5 questions when required and move your business forward with smarter questions and reduce the bias for more and have an eye for prioritised (aka smarter) work.ย
Have a good week and land in your inbox next week,
Danny Denhard
PS If you would like to hear me talk about the next moat for business listen/watch here