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The Three Questions a Leader Should Ask in Troubled Times
Times of crisis require clear thinking on the part of business leaders. Bad news tends to pile up from day to day, and can seem overwhelming. How can you make sensible business decisions when you're waiting for the next bit of news which may well throw all your plans into chaos? Better to wait and not do anything, just in case.
Well, no, of course not. That isn't going to get anything done. The most important thing to remember is that your fundamental priorities as a leader remain the same. Other people around you may feel that everything has changed, but if you hold fast to the practices of good leadership, you'll give your people, your team and your business the best chance it has to weather the storm.
These good practices can be summarised very simply by asking yourself and your people three questions and here they are:
1. "What's up?"
2. "So what?", and
3. "What now?"
The first question, "What's up?" is really about exploring the current situation facing you and the team. "What's up?" you ask. "What's the situation? What are the facts? What are we doing?" This is all about exploring the present situation in the present tense.
Having got a good grasp of the situation, or as good a grasp as you're going to get - you'll never have all the information and all the answers at your fingers - then you can ask the second question.
Now, the second question is "So what?" And you should actually ask this question. But not in a patronising or aggressive way. Ask the question as a prompt to your people. "So what? What are the implications of this information? Of the things we just discovered, of the facts we have?" And you should push your people quite hard here. "What are the implications for our suppliers and competitors as well as for us?"
You can extend this question further by asking: "What are the options open to us?" In a way you are helping people to brainstorm - but don't call it brainstorming. Keep it informal and direct. Ask "What could we do? What are the possibilities we should consider?"
This question "So what?" is in the future tense - it's about the things you haven't done yet, but the things you could do. And you'll have huge success if you remember to ask this question of your teams, giving them every opportunity to share their best thinking - no matter how strange their ideas might seem.
Once you've started getting a few ideas - frankly that's the most dangerous time for you. This is when most poor managers stop the discussion and send teams off to the library or to the internet to research some or all of the thousands of possibilities.
Instead, you should ask the third question: "What now?" You ask: "What are we going to do now? What decisions are the best decisions for us?" This is critical. This is the moment of truth; the time you choose what action to take. Your skill as a leadership coach is crucial here. You've got to help your people to analyse and evaluate the options you've developed and to choose a course of action everyone can support.
You don't have to have all the answers, but you do need to know the right questions to ask.
About the Author If you want the leadership success you deserve, get the leadership training you deserve. Download more free articles and leadership training videos from business journalist Jacqueline Moore and Steven Sonsino, authors of the Amazon bestseller "The Seven Failings of Really Useless Leaders" Get more FREE videos and articles right now: http://www.stevensonsino.com
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