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. 

Thinking Bold, Acting Bold, Being Bold

Being bold = being honest with yourself and with others.

Being bold = mustering the strength to appear vulnerable.

Being bold = facing your fears and imperfections.

Being bold = acknowledging how you deceive yourself.

Being bold = questioning your assumptions and behaviors.

Being bold = asking tough questions without sugar-coating.

Being bold = resisting the risk-avoidant behavior of over-thinking.

Being bold = being willing to say ‘no’ and disappoint.

Being bold = being willing to say ‘I disagree’, regardless the hierarchy.

Being bold = knowing you don’t need to be liked by everyone all the time.

Being bold = speaking out and going beyond accepted norms.

Being bold = the first and last step in creating any kind of change.

What is being bold to you? 

How bold did you act today? 

A leader who empowers and inspires …

… is a leader

who shows up, speaks up, and steps up.

who asks “How can I help you be more successful?”

who models vulnerability, humility, and courage.

who wants to know what she might be missing.

who knows when he has to withdraw and let go.

who demonstrates the value of both work and play.

who focuses on what her people are doing that’s working.

who says it as it is and who wants to hear it as it is.

who finishes with: “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

We are all lousy listeners …

… even though we know that

Listening builds trust
Listening adds perspective

Listening expands your mind

Listening is a show of respect

Listening breaks down resistance

Listening creates buy-in and support
Listening provides you with feedback

Listening conveys that you are interested

Listening turns you into a well-informed person

Listening helps you understand, remember, interpret and evaluate

Listening expresses that you care about others’ opinions and concerns

But only when it’s real listening, to what is being said and to what is being left unsaid – only then. But only when it’s active listening, with the right kind of questions – only then.

My advise to you and myself: Listen, with your heart and head, while being fully aware and present, in the here and now - It's a hard and important thing to do.

Crash Course in Critical Thinking

For anyone who thinks he’s in control or who likes to be in control, I’ve got bad news for you. Scientists believe to have shown that the brain runs largely on autopilot. Whether you like to hear this or not, if this is true, your brain acts first and asks questions later (if at all), often explaining behavior after the fact. I don’t like this, but I recognize it. I see it in the workplace and I see it in my own life. I don’t think this mechanism serves us well. It encourages the deadly sin of avoiding accountability, assigning blame to someone or something, and deceiving yourself into thinking that you are right. It keeps biases, misconceptions and self-deception untouched. Not a good thing. Whether you and I believe the notion of a brain on autopilot or not, I still believe in the necessity and the power of critical thinking. Here’s why.

Think of your average workplace conversation or meeting. Have you ever witnessed people leave even more convinced of their own ideas than before the meeting? Have you ever been in a conversation that lasted and lasted, with few questions asked and those that were asked were the wrong kind of questions. Have you ever seen two people talk, thinking that they understood each other, thinking that they agreed on one and the same thing only to see them leave with two different interpretations of the main problem and the solution?

These situations are no exaggerations nor are they exceptions. They happen, and they are detrimental to quality thinking processes, quality discussions, and quality decision-making. They make the workplace more tense, inefficient, and ineffective, because they lack critical thinking. Not a good thing.

In it’s course Critical Thinking, the University of Hong Kong describes critical thinking as the ability to think clearly and rationally. This requires reflective and independent thinking. Reflective thinking happens when you scrutinize your own (or someone else’s) assumptions, thought patterns, and behaviors, as well as your fears, needs, distortions and biases. Independent thinking refers to thinking that is minimally affected by peer group pressure, social media, common belief, parental influence, or any other force from outside.

Not an easy task, even though most people who read this post may think that they’re just that: reflective, independent thinkers. Well, you’re likely not, or at least less than you think you are.

Particularly two aspects of critical thinking as defined at the University of Hong Kong attract my attention because I think most of us fail to do so:

1. Detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in our reasoning.

2. Reflect on the justification of our beliefs and values.

Critical thinking is mostly about evaluating your own thoughts, examining possible flaws, and detecting biases in your own approach. When was the last time you really practiced this? And how differently would your conflict with another manager, or the tension during a performance review conversation, or the decision making during that team meeting have transpired? So consider the following questions:

How curious are you really? 

How often do you consciously refute your cherished beliefs? 
When was the last time you eagerly widened your perspective in a disagreement?
How easily do you doubt yourself and suspend your judgment about that one manager that everybody is gossiping about? 

I’m guessing not so often and not so much, and that makes you human. It’s more likely that you’ve jumped to premature conclusions, that you’ve accepted your own assumptions blindly, and that you are only remotely (if at all) familiar with the practice of carefully and critically examining your preconceived notions.

So what to do now? Examples of questions that help you think critically in different stages of your thought process:

- Do I have enough perspectives?
- Have I consulted a variety of sources?

- Are my assumptions valid?
If so, why? 
- If not, why not?
 What are they even based on?

- What am I not willing to see/look at?

- Which preconceived notions should I re-examine?
- Who or what can help me stress-test my assumptions?

- Do I need to gather or investigate more facts and data?

- What do I need to do to remain alert and open-minded while I implement my ideas?

The above questions are only one necessary step to become a mindful, reflective, and critical thinker. Someone who is 'comfortable' to hunt for inconsistencies and mistakes in their own reasoning and to reflect on the justification of long-held beliefs. 

Continually questioning how you are searching, choosing, interpreting, and judging information is essential to critical thinking and can help minimize group think and intolerance. It makes you a smarter thinker, employee, leader, and team member. It makes the world and the workplace a much better place!