All work takes place through conversations and it is through these conversations that you achieve results or not. When you do not achieve results, you often look to the conversations that did not happen or did not go well. Was the conversation challenging enough to be powerful?
Having powerful conversations are key to producing extraordinary results. Your ability to have a powerful conversation demonstrates that you are committed to having a powerful relationship. Extraordinary results are a function of extraordinary relationships.
The old model of leadership was all about having the answers. According to theory, you got to the top by being able to answer the tough questions and came up with compelling answers. In the current model, the leader’s primary role is to initiate conversations that bring out the best thinking of the group and direct those conversations toward a positive outcome.
When you talk, do people listen? Communicating effectively is essential in the business world. It is the first step on the path toward leadership. Telling others what to do is easy compared to engaging them in a process where they are in control and think through solutions to their own challenges.
Powerful Questions
Every day we ask or are asked umpteen questions, usually answered without much thought. They help you function on a day-to-day basis. Occasionally someone will ask a question that make you stop in your tracks. Those are the powerful questions. When a question is compelling and engaging enough, you will do everything possible to answer it.
Think about how powerful your conversations are that impact the bottom line. One of the most effective tools in communication is the ability to ask questions. Being able to ask effective questions is a skill that must be acquired. Skillful questioning is one of the key ingredients of solid and successful relationships, strategic planning, and a significant exchange of information and opinions. Questions that are poorly constructed and weak lead to a poor communication exchange and may cause misunderstanding.
Think about the possibilities that could be generated by asking powerful questions that:
- Encourage creativity and innovation
- Change beliefs
- Focus on possibilities
- Generate new ideas
How can you frame compelling questions?
- Listen first- Recognize what is being said and then ask your question.
- Focus on questions that invite new thinking, ideas and actions rather than dwelling on past issues
- What questions will help to gather vital information and facts
- It’s important to come up with a question that truly engages so that you are in the best frame of mind to creatively tackle the problem/challenge.
- Positive questions
Change Happens in Powerful Conversations
Having open and productive conversations is critical in making sure that change happens as envisioned. Powerful conversations create action that lead to change.
You will know when you have asked a powerful question when others feel empowered, awareness has been raised and more options are created.
Every powerful conversation goes through 3 stages:
- Stage 1: A sharing of feelings and beliefs
- Stage 2 : A discussion about what should be done in terms of discussing specific needs and wants
- Stage 3 : Agreement on the specific action steps to be taken and mutual commitments to be kept by both parties
Each powerful conversation can be harnessed productively within any organization. How and what we communicate impacts the results we can achieve. What are you generating around you when you communicate? Enthusiasm? Innovation? Accountability? Or something else?
Generative leadership communication begins with clearly thinking through what you want to generate in others in both the short and long term. How do you want listeners to feel as a result of what you say?
Begin your powerful conversations by exchanging ideas, expanding your mindset, and experiencing breakthroughs in the results you get. Great leaders communicate their vision with passion, but they don’t pretend to have all the answers. How can you encourage and empower your followers to contribute to the conversation, without their feeling embarrassed or intimidated?