Seven Questions to Improve Your Professional Effectiveness

It' not so much the answers that matter, although they provide valuable insights. It's the thought processes that these questions elicit and the increased awareness you will experience that will strengthen your professional effectiveness. Here are seven questions from different fields: 

From the Tao Te Ching: 
What can I really learn from those who criticize me and point out my faults? 

From Gestalt Psychology: 
What am I working hard to avoid right now?  

From Cognitive Psychology: 
Which are my thoughts and my thinking distortions that are holding me back right now? 

From Mindfulness Training: 
What am I really paying full attention to, if anything?

From Attribution Theory: 
What am I attributing my success and my failure to and how can I hold myself more accountable?

From System Theory:
How does how I show up and communicate, influence how others show up and communicate? 

From Buddhism: 
What is the result of my mourning for the past and my worrying about the future, compared to truly living in the present moment? 

We are the only animals on this planet with the capability to extensively and intelligently think about our thinking. I write ‘capability’ because I regularly wonder: Do we do it enough? Do we do it in a wise and successful manner? That is questionable. As Socrates once said: “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.” I urge you to learn to think differently from how you thought before. You can start with asking yourself different questions, better questions. 

Do you … really?

Do you speak out, when no one else does?

Do you really?

Do you lead, even when no one is following?

Do you really?

Do you give without expecting to get in return?

Do you really?

Do you know when you are deceiving yourself?

Do you really?

Do you put honesty above your need to be liked?

Do you really?

Do you listen to inconvenient, dissenting opinions?

Do you really?

Do you work hard to deliver results when making excuses is easier? 
Do you really?

Do you really admit fault, which is different from a ‘show-time apology’?
Do you really?

I sure don't always do these things – there is plenty of room for improvement.