Are You Asking Questions of Yourself? Here is Why You Should!

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Your Best As a Leader Depends on Your Questions

We love answers! We want to know! Why has the term “Google It” become so popular? Because it is a quick and easy way to find answers. Type in a phrase or keyword and in a flash Google gives you results. Lots of results!

Outside of Google, how do we find the answers we seek?

We ask questions.

Questions Get to the Basics

When I took a class in journalism at the University of Central Florida (GO KNIGHTS!) they emphasized that a journalist always seeks to find answers to the certain details about a story. The answers are covered with the acronym WWWWWH. That’s Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.

WHO is involved in the story?
WHAT happened?
WHEN did it happen?
WHERE did it happen?
WHY did it happen?
HOW did it happen?

If you answer those questions you have told the reader most of what they want to know. Everything else is details.

Applying Questions in Life

I’ve kept that idea and tried to apply it to my life. In general I try to use questions as much as possible to learn, to discover, and to get clarity.

Sometimes I ask those questions of others. Most of the time I ask them of myself.

As a leader, we need to question ourselves often. Not the questions of doubt and deceit. Those are the questions that are meant to tear down; to break down our confidence, destroy our purpose, and rationalize choosing the easier path.

The questions we need to ask are ones that build, that focus, that reinforce our confidence, reaffirm our purpose, and show us a path no matter the difficulty. According to John Maxwell, author of Good Leaders Ask Great Questions, asking questions provides several benefits:

You Only Get Answers to Questions You Ask

Seems obvious, right? But amazing how often we don’t ask questions about what we want or need to know.
Questions Unlock and Open Doors that Otherwise Remain Closed

Peter Drucker once said, “My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.”
Questions Are the Most Effective Means of Connecting With People

Have you ever stopped to ask directions from a stranger, say when your GPS is lying to you? How many told you to go away without giving you directions? Not many I would bet. A simple question generates interest.
Questions Cultivate Humility

When I was fresh out of college with my degree, I felt I had to have all the answers so I never asked questions. The more I learned, the more I learned what I don’t know. Questions help me discover that even more but helps me learn faster.
Questions Help You Engage Others in Conversations

Look at talk show hosts. Their entire existence revolves around asking questions of celebrities to start a conversation.
Questions Allow Us to Build Better Ideas

What we discover from others leads to great things. When I work with clients I use this to help them improve their workplace.
Questions Give Us Different Perspective

When we want to do things differently we have to see things differently and overcome our assumptions.
Questions Challenge Mind-Sets and Get You Out of Ruts

We settle into the familiar. Asking questions like “why” and “why not” can disrupt our status quo.

Start with Questioning Yourself

I recently read a blog about the 11 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Day. It was impactful and insightful. Unfortunately, it is on a subscription service and I am not able to share it here. If you want to find it yourself, the subscription program is called Maximum Impact Mentoring.

That was 11 questions and that may seem a bit much. Most of us complain we don’t even have time for breakfast, much less time time to go through a bunch of questions every day. Eventually you want to get there but in the meantime…

Let’s Go Simple

The statesman and philosopher Benjamin Franklin has been said to guide his life by asking himself two questions. In the morning he would ask himself, “what good will I do today?” and then in the evening before going to bed he would ask “what good did I do today?”

Simple and if you think that’s enough for you, that’s great, go for it. If you want it more customized to your role as a leader, however, let’s try something else. For best results, I recommend keeping a journal. Use Evernote (my favorite), a diary app, or just a spiral notebook or composition book. Every day, set aside 5-10 minutes and ask these questions. Modify them based on whether you do this in the morning or evening.

What did I learn yesterday (today)?
How did I add value yesterday (today)?
Who do I need to recognize today (tomorrow)?
How will I focus on my strengths today (tomorrow)?
Who will I show appreciation to today (tomorrow)?

Do you ask a lot of questions? How did not asking questions cost you? How can you make sure you lead with questions?

Share your comments here or email me at psimkins@BoldlyLead.com.

Why Employee Engagement is the New Black and How to Make it More Than a Fashion Trend

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The Number of Employee Engagement?

I seem to find that number a lot.

Preparing to write this, I do a Google Search for Employee Engagement and set search parameters to only list items posted in less than 24 hours. I get 70 results.

Employee Engagement is the new BLACK.

That’s why so many employee satisfaction surveys have been renamed to engagement surveys.

It’s why Engagement Software is becoming a new niche industry.

And then there is this. The other places where I see the number 70.

Survey Says

A Gallup Survey shows that 70% of employees are disengaged or not fully engaged in the workplace.

Another study shows that 70% of customers leave because of poor customer experience. In other ways, they become disengaged.

In a large way, these were wake-up numbers for many. They may have looked at how they attempted to do more work with less people and found that actually they weren’t doing more with less. They were doing less. A Cornerstone study showed 68% less.

So the conclusion we can draw from all of this is that engagement is a critical factor. In fact, employee engagement has a direct relationship to customer engagement.

In fact, a 2016 study by the Temkin Group found that companies with a more engaged workforce scored significantly better on customer experience ratings than those with less engaged workforces. Customers with a great experience stay.

[tweetthis]Employee Engagement has a direct relationship to customer engagement. [/tweetthis]

More Than a Trend

So Employee Engagement is the new black. Or at the least the buzz phrase is.

Many organizations, however, don’t seem to really understand what engagement means. Let’s take a look at the data we shared above.

When we talk about customer engagement we also use the word “experience“. We worry about the customer experience because we know that a negative experience repels customers. Even one has a big impact. It’s recoverable, but only when we act to make it right.

We should also worry about the employee experience because it impacts THEIR engagement.

When we add to their workload because we eliminated the positions that used to do that job, we create a negative experience.
When we try to “keep them in their place”.
When we seek to “fix them” as a manager once requested of me.
When we create a culture that discourages independent thought, values youth over experience, values tenure over productivity, or values gender over contribution.
Even when we value customers over employees we create the negative employee experience that leads to disengagement that leads to negative customer experiences.

We create great customer experiences, however, when we focus on creating great employee experiences. We do that by creating a culture that both equips and encourages our employees to insist on their best and do what it takes to provide the superior customer experience.

A key word there is EQUIP.

You can’t expect a carpenter to drive a nail without a hammer (or nail gun today). It would be unreasonable to expect a cook to make breakfast without food supplies and kitchen tools. You can’t expect anyone to provide a great experience without having the tools.

What are some of the tools we need to provide for a great experience, whether for an employee or a customer?

Identified Core Values
Make it clear what we stand for and what is non-negotiable in everything we do. For employees it helps them understand the guidelines under which they are to operate and interact with customers.
Communicated Expectations
People work best when they know exactly what is expected of them. We establish that by constantly sharing our expectations in both our words and our actions, as well as letting them know what they can expect from us.
Personal Connection
People want to know that they personally matter. She’s not employee #100. She is Liza who makes a major contribution to our excellent customer service standards. He is not customer #347568. He is Charles who has done business with us for the last three years.
Appreciation
With that connection, they want to know that it makes a difference to you. Recognizing both informally and formally what someone does in the workplace on a daily basis shows appreciation for it. Reward what your desire. If you want consistent, above average performance, recognize it freely and frequently. If you want a customer to come back and buy again, show recognition for this visit. T-mobile thanks me for being a 15+ year customer every time I call them. It’s little yet goes a long way.

Is employee engagement more than just a buzzword in your organization? What are the things they do to prove that? What are some of the great experiences you have had? Share your thoughts here or email me at psimkins@BoldlyLead.com.

9 Excellent Blogs To Follow About Leadership and Employee Engagement

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Leadership Bloggers You Need to Spend Time With

Besides me, of course!

Beagle and His Blog — Beagle checking out what’s on his computer. I admit it, this is cute bait.

Kevin Kruse

Kevin is the author of several books, including Employee Engagement 2.0. His background is a serial entrepreneur who has built a few companies into profitable operations that he eventually sold off. He recently founded an organization called LeadX that includes a podcast and blog as well.

Why I Like Kevin

Kevin is the real deal. Much of what he relates in his books is based on personal experience. Lessons learned and things he applied over time. He places emphasis where it should be – on building personal relationships with others. His new stuff shows he is just getting better.

Leadership Freak

Dan Rockwell is the leadership freak. He is also a noted speaker and coach. Dan is a Top 50 Leadership Expert according to INC Magazine. He has owned two businesses and was a Workforce Development Consultant at Penn State University.

What I Like About Dan’s Blog

Dan is concise and to the point. He limits blog posts to 300 words or less so they are easy reads. He uses a lot of bullet points and numbered lists. You get the message easily without a lot of fluff or decoding “consultant speak”.

David Zinger

David is the author of four books and several eBooks on employee engagement. When he had a “real job” as we like to say he was a career counselor and employee assistance counselor at Seagrams Ltd., particularly at the plant where they make Crown Royal. He is also the founder and CEO of The Employee Engagement Network.

David’s Blog is Good Because

David adds a good mix of humor and the arts to his approach. His basis is very HUMAN. He never lets you forget the human equation is the most important part of what you are doing when you are looking to engage people.

Disney Institute

You will want to filter your results for Employee Engagement since the Disney Institute covers a variety of topics. The best part of this blog is learning employee engagement the Disney Way. While far from perfect, Disney has also done many things right. You will have to wade through a lot of promo for DI programs.

What I Like About It

The blog posts highlight a lot of intentionality that goes into the Disney programs. It’s a key that often goes missing in some engagement systems and programs. That and consistency, which Disney is also very big on.

TINYPulse

Their primary product is employee surveys. Generally I disdain employee surveys primarily because of the way they are administered. TINYPulse at least has a nice twist on it. Their tools administers short, frequent surveys called Pulses that allow for data collection and an ongoing picture of how people feel.

Their Blog is Good Because

On their blog they include not just commentary from experts but also some very useful ideas. There have been a few blog posts on useful training games which help teach a point. They share information from surveys and initiatives to try in your workplace.

Achievers.com

The primary product lines at Achievers.com is employee recognition and reward programs. These are all well and good and are actually an important part of an overall employee engagement program. Just keep the perspective that they aren’t the primary part.

Why I Like the Blog

It is rated as a top HR and Engagement blog by many ratings surveys. It has excellent content and they keep it current. They also will include guest bloggers from time-to-time so you aren’t just getting the blog posts to promote products.

ConantLeadership

Doug Conant learned his leadership and engagement insights the honest way: in the trenches. He was President of Nabisco, CEO of Campbell Soup Company, and Chairman of AVON Products. He is a noted author and keynote speaker. Doug founded ConantLeadership in 2011. HIs best quote is: “To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace.”

I Like Doug’s Blog Because

His blog actually is under the category of Resources on his site. It contains a mixture of tools and articles that provide great insight and tips. Doug is also a regular contributor of articles on LinkedIn so you can follow him there as well.

John Mattone

John’s primary platform is Intelligent Leadership. Hard not to like that. He is also the #2 ranked Leadership Coach according to GlobalGurus.com.

Read John’s Blog Because

You will find a lot of insight about leadership that touches on the real. Gathering and using information that helps you make intelligent decisions to help move your team forward. He also adds in some guests, mostly through interviews, that provide unique insights.

Robert Jerus

Robert’s specialty is Emotional Intelligence, a hot topic today and a must have for the modern leader. He is the author of Mind Matters; Applying Emotional Intelligence for Personal and Professional Success as well as a few other books and many journal and magazine articles.

Where is Robert’s Blog?

This is a cheat actually. Robert doesn’t keep a blog per se. He spends a lot more time posting articles to LinkedIn and that will be the best way to read his stuff. Some of the titles include “12 Qualities of True GRIT“, “The Giver’s Dividend“, and “Myths of Emotional Intelligence“. You can also get his books on Amazon.