Leaders Can Boost Productivity By Changing One Word In Their Questions
Inquiry-based managing could boost productivity and engagement.
According to IBM, 48% of CEOs now believe productivity will be their highest priority over the next three years. Business leaders looking to improve the productivity of their staff may think the solution lies within major organizational change or vast financial investments in technology. But have you ever stopped to consider that enhancing the skills of our managers could be the answer?
MANAGEMENT VS ENABLEMENT
Poor-quality managers impact team engagement. Resulting in disengaged employees that are less productive. It is not uncommon that managers are (through no fault of their own) ill-equipped to deal with the people side of management. Even more when having been promoted into this role “accidentally” due to their high performance elsewhere. As a result, they can lean into a management style that favors commanding and controlling their team, making them accountable for all the decision-making and problem-solving.
Inevitably, when a manager constantly fixes, solves, and directs an employee’s every action daily, that employee loses ownership of their work, and is robbed of the opportunity to think for themselves, engage properly with a task, and develop independence within a role.
The very definition of being a manager means one can only achieve goals through other people; by constantly needing to be involved in every decision-making process, managers become a metaphorical
roadblock or bottleneck for every project, not only affecting their own output but hampering that of their team too. To achieve more, managers must embrace the paradox that they do less by stepping away from the idea that they are there to manage and instead become enablers of others.
But what if a question was the answer? What if businesses could leverage the huge influence of their managers to develop teams with drive and independence, simply by learning to stop, think, and ask a powerful question?
DEVELOPING AN INQUIRY-BASED APPROACH
When a team member flags a problem, it’s easy to give them an immediate solution. Instead, a more effective approach would be to stop and resist this urge. Use that moment to think and reflect. Managers should ask themselves “How can I help this person get better at a task so that next time this problem arises, they feel confident enough to make the right decision of their own accord?”
The questions you ask should be about helping the employee come to a conclusion using their knowledge, and developing the confidence to tackle similar situations in the future. Questions should guide their thinking, and not simply be an opportunity to gather more information so that you can solve the problem for them.
Avoid asking “why” questions, as these can often sound critical or assign blame. Replace them with “what” questions, that encourage an employee to analyze the facts:
- What made you think that?
- What are the reasons for this?
Avoiding “why” questions removes any hint of blame, encouraging team members to share their thinking process within an environment in which they feel safe and trusted.
GOING BEYOND A POWERFUL QUESTION
Learning to ask a powerful question is a deft skill for managers. But to truly maximize the effect of doing so, managers must also practice active listening during these moments. That means putting down your phone, not glancing at your screen when an email pings, and giving an employee your full attention.
Managers can often perfect the asking of powerful questions but fail when it comes to the next part, by interrupting with your observations and thoughts which risks closing down the other person’s thinking.
Helping managers learn how and when to ask powerful questions (rather than directing and firefighting themselves) creates a culture where everyone’s contributions are valued and multiple perspectives are considered. Inevitably, this leads to better, more collaborative outcomes and higher levels of employee engagement, as team members feel a sense of ownership and fulfillment over their own work.
When managers delegate in this way, work is distributed more equitably within teams as individuals develop and step up to take accountability. Employees are then empowered by this confidence to do their best work, and productivity is improved.
Don’t forget, if you need any advice or support simply hop on to a learning station, read our blog, or contact us. We’re always happy to help.
