Ask Questions in a Positive, Productive Way

Leadership training programs encourage you as a leader to get to know your team members…on a personal as well as a professional basis. Engage them in conversation, ask questions and learn what you can about what drives them and what they care about. Your questions should demonstrate your sincere interest and attention. Not so hard – right?

But what about when a team member has screwed up? They are likely to be on the defensive.

You have lots of questions to get to the bottom of what happened but, if you ask in a confrontational way, your employees will be defensive and far less likely to be forthcoming.

• Instead of asking who is to blame, ask what we can do to cover and support any weak areas.
  
• Rather than zeroing in on what went wrong, try to find out what went right so you can leverage strengths.
  

And listen carefully to the tone you use as well as the words. Remember that your objective is to engage your team members in finding a solution…not putting them off or scaring them from sharing or uncovering the truth.

Learn more at: http://www.lsaglobal.com/leadership-development/