What to ask someone new?
Posted by NovaAngel at February 9th, 2007
This question is probably the most blatantly selfish question in the entire section. Finding good questions becomes an obsession for leaders who learn the value and power of asking questions. What better way to find questions than to ask for them?
Asking for questions within your organization works for a while. Every leader, even those who don’t make questioning a priority, will have a few questions they routinely ask. But you’ll often find that within an organization, questions seem to cluster around certain themes. Asking for new questions from people who come from different organizational backgrounds will provide you with a whole new set of possible questions.
But there is another, less selfish reason for asking this question of a new hire. Their reaction will provide you with insights into their comfort with a leader who asks questions. Some people will eagerly share questions, some will haltingly respond with a question, and others will stare blankly as if you’ve asked the most bizarre question ever uttered.
The eager sharer is telling you either that they’ve joined your team from a question-rich culture or that they understand the power of questions and are happy to share. Work with this new employee to strengthen their commitment to questioning and to encourage them to share new questions as they find them.
The slow responder is letting you know that they haven’t had a lot of experience with leaders who ask questions but are willing to participate. Make sure you thank them for their contribution and encourage them to make others in the future. Keep them in mind for some gentle questioning in the near future so you can help them understand this part of your leadership style.
The blank looker is harder to read. They may be confused by a leader who asks questions, frightened by this level of interaction with their new leader, or genuinely surprised by the action of a leader asking them for their opinion. No matter which interpretation might be accurate, don’t jump to a conclusion. It’s now your job to find out which of these (or any of many other explanations) is the right one.
No matter which situation you encounter with this question, like asking any good question of the right person at the right time, you’ll get valuable information that you’ll be able to use in the future.
