Inquiry
“Life is completely shaped by the kind of questions you are asking.”
~ George MacDonald
Okay, that quote doesn’t sound anything like the language a 19th-century Scottish minister would use, but since I couldn’t locate this quote, I am sure he said something similar that has been translated to this version. Someone I respect deeply references it often and it comes up in my coaching conversations now as well.
The premise is pretty self-explanatory. Think about how your life might be shaped by each of these:
How do I retire early and comfortably?
How do I make the most measurable impact on the world while I am here?
Pretty extreme examples, but you get the point.
Lindsay joined our coaching practice almost 3 years ago. While she had tremendous natural gifts, she had little coaching experience and very few years in business leadership. This not only made it challenging to put her in client situations but really assaulted her confidence.
Because there was no way to replicate the 50 or so years of business leadership and experience my partner and I had, we started looking for ways to get her training. There was “on the job” of course, but that is a very long play strategy. In the meantime, her thoughtfulness in handling client interactions, helping coordinate group encounters, and starting to lend her natural coaching voice was transformative for our work.
We researched and invested in coach training for her. For us it was a little money, for her it was an incredible commitment of time, energy, and heart. As a result, she is CRM trained and ICF certified as an executive coach.
And training my partner and I to be much better coaches.
What we are learning from her is that George MacDonald was right. Client’s lives are completely shaped by the questions they are asked. She is teaching us the science of appreciative inquiry.
Inquiry - the act of exploration and discovery through asking questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities
Appreciate - valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life
True coaching is not about drawing upon 50 years of experience to give a lot of advice. It is mostly about asking thoughtful questions in an intentional and powerful path that leads to self-discovery in the other person. And while my partner and I seemed to naturally do a lot of things this methodology teaches, we are wildly better at coaching because of the training we are receiving from her.
The student has truly become the teacher and we and all our clients are better for it.
Now, because many of our corporate “coaching” clients and longer-standing relationships look a lot more like consulting relationships at this point, the 50 years of experience we have in business and leadership are incredibly valuable. But how we discover, offer, and apply all that experience has been wildly shaped by asking better questions and discovery.
In fact, on pure coaching one-on-one, Lindsay is the subject matter expert in our practice. Anyone who gets the privilege of her coaching them will instantly recognize the value. Especially us!
Consider
Are you slow to speak and quick to listen?
Do you feel like you are bringing out the best in your team or others you lead?
Do your conversations with others involve more questions than answers?
Do you want to get better at that?
Lindsay will be presenting a workshop on our best practices for building engagement and ownership in the people you lead. She’ll help you identify who you should invest in, a meeting rhythm, and a methodology for making those meetings powerful and meaningful for both of you. Respond with your interest and I will make sure we update you on her first workshop when dates are confirmed. It would be a great way to sharpen your own sword as a leader or for all of the leaders in your company.