Send to KindleMany years ago when I was a young worker just becoming a manager and leader and I wondered why my bosses never asked my opinion. In fact they seldom asked me anything. That seemed strange to me; after all I had infinite knowledge and the wisdom of youth and leadership certainly could have gained from seeking my advice and counsel. Today I realize that I was half right. I was right that my leadership should have been asking me questions. I was wrong in what those questions should have been. Rather than asking my advice concerning their responsibilities, they should have been asking whether I understood some basic things about the organization and what I was there to contribute.
Here are ten questions a leader should ask.
1. What is the mission of this organization?
2. What is your part in making that mission happen?
3. Under what set of values does this organization operate?
4. Do you know your boss’ vision?
5. What gets in the way of doing your job?
6. What would help you do your job better?
7. Tell me about your best day here.
8. Tell me about your worst day here.
9. Do you feel you have a future with this organization?
10. Are you happy here?
The first four questions give the leader an idea whether the basic tenets of the organization are understood at the working level. Workers who understand these basic principles will normally produce better results.
The next four questions give the leader an idea how the worker sees his or her job. The value in the answers to these questions is often found in the aggregate. That’s because there will always be the individual worker for whom nothing goes right or who you happen to catch on a bad day. Likewise, there are sometimes workers who would never dream of complaining and so won’t tell you anything that might be even remotely construed as negative. But, when taken together, the answers to these four questions paint a picture of things that might be getting in the way of progress and other things that are working well that might be worth expanding.
The final two questions might seem a little touchy feely for some but they are important as a gauge of morale. Of course, just because that guy in receiving isn’t happy doesn’t mean you’re going to change everything, but if a number of people aren’t happy you need to find out why. Whether or not workers feel they have a future with your organization is an indicator that’s more important today than it was thirty years ago. People today are much more likely to leave a company because they don’t see a future than years ago when such fluidity was not as common. Again, if a number of employees don’t see a future with the company, you have a metric that bears a little further investigation.
You may be hesitant to ask these questions, assuming you won’t get valid answers from people who are fearful of saying anything to the boss. That’s a legitimate concern, so don’t ask these questions yourself. Have someone from outside ask them; someone with whom the employees can feel free discussing the issues. Introduce that person and ensure the employees that you will only be given an overall assessment that will not include names or details. Instruct the person asking the questions to engage people in open discussion to get more than just yes and no answers.
The answers to these 10 questions will be a gold mine of information that can help your organization excel.
