6 Best Open-Ended Questions To Ask Your Employees

To help you bring out the best in your team, you need to get close and understand their skills, abilities, and motivations. So, the authors of the book, Your First Leadership Job, recommend you hold getting-to-know-you conversations with each of your direct reports.

Ask these open-ended questions. Let each team member know the purpose of the meeting in advance. And, don't cheat by adding in work-specific questions.

What do you enjoy doing most as part of your work? Why?
What do you miss most about the jobs you've had in the past? Why?
What things about your current job do you enjoy the least? Why?
How do you cope with or relieve stress?
To help you do your job, what could I change about: Your work environment? The content of your work? How you get your work done?
What form of recognition do you prefer or not prefer?

Comments

Effective Listening: Do's And Don'ts

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman's book, The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

10 Leadership Experts Explain How To Lead During COVID-19

The following 10 leadership and business book authors answered this question for me: Question: While we surely will find ourselves challenged by COVID-19 in the foreseeable future, what is the most important thing a leader can do as they lead their business/organization? “Leaders have had some great opportunities as a result of COVID-19. Topping the list: hire the best people, not just the best people geographically convenient. The world just gave permission to have people working remotely. Take advantage. As a bonus tip, it is more important than ever to remember that your team is made of humans and this is an extremely difficult time for humans. Build in extra supports for your team.” -- Michael Solomon and Rishon Blumberg, co-authors of, Game Changer . “First, don’t allow yourself to become so overwhelmed and distracted by the uncertainties—what you don’t know—that you lose sight of what you do know, and what you can control. Second, you must establish a protocol for maintaini

How To Lead During COVID-19

Today, the following 10 leadership and business book authors answered this question for me: Question: While we surely will find ourselves challenged by COVID-19 in the foreseeable future, what is the most important thing a leader can do as they lead their business/organization? “Leaders have had some great opportunities as a result of COVID-19. Topping the list: hire the best people, not just the best people geographically convenient. The world just gave permission to have people working remotely. Take advantage. As a bonus tip, it is more important than ever to remember that your team is made of humans and this is an extremely difficult time for humans. Build in extra supports for your team.” -- Michael Solomon and Rishon Blumberg, co-authors of, Game Changer . “First, don’t allow yourself to become so overwhelmed and distracted by the uncertainties—what you don’t know—that you lose sight of what you do know, and what you can control. Second, you must establish a protocol for

Growth Is A Leadership Issue, Not A Sales Issue

“Only you , as a senior leader, have the power to direct your company to continuous and sustainable success,” says Scott K. Edinger , author of the new book, The Growth Leader . “Growth is a leadership issue, not a sales issue,” he adds. His book explains why that is true. And why the relationship that executives and leaders have with the sales organization is among the most important elements of growth leadership. The Growth Leader reveals how top executives create profitable growth through the intersection of strategy, leadership, and sales. With a clear strategy, inspiring leadership, and aligned sales, powerful leaders understand that true competitive advantage doesn't come from innovation alone but belongs to companies that use their sales organization to add and create value. By reading the book, you'll learn how to ensure growth strategy is aligned at every level of your company, from boardroom initiatives to daily customer interaction. More specifically, you’l

The Seven Dimensions Of Career Development

Seventy percent of U.S. employees report being at least somewhat likely to leave their current employer for another with a reputation for investing in employee learning and development, according to a Harris Polls study and as called out in the new book, Promotions Are So Yesterday: Redefine Career Development. Help Employees Thrive , by Julie Winkle Giulioni . “Career development, growth, and learning are among the top reasons employees accept, remain in, and/or leave a role,” states Winkle Gioulioni. And, “if you take nothing else from my book, I hope it’s this: The time-honored tradition of defining career development in terms of promotions, moves, or title changes is dead,” adds Winkle Giulioni. Therefore, she recommends leaders consider that there are seven other dimensions that can be developed through one’s career . “And when employees take off their blinders and become aware of the other viable and valuable ways they can grow, my research suggests that the promotion clim

How To Survive And Then Reset To Ultimately Thrive

“Uncertainty is here to stay. Rather than seeing it as an obstacle to overcome, integrate it into your strategic approach to invigorate your high-growth potential and outperform competition under any market condition,” explains Rebecca Homkes , author of the new book, Survive, Reset, Thrive . “Most books aren’t honest enough about how hard it is to reset ,” adds Homkes. Yet, resetting and leaning into change is essential. “If you are ready to embrace change as a central element of your growth strategy, this book is for you.” Homkes’ book is a timely, comprehensive, and essential read for business leaders looking to take the next step toward ensuring high growth for their companies. The book brings together more than 15 years of Homkes working directly with high-growth companies of all sizes and across a wide variety of industries. Survive, Reset, Thrive (SRT) is a practical and innovative interconnected three-mode approach : Survive : Stabilizing your business when

Flashback: Best New Leadership Book Of 2014

Flashback to this post from early 2015 : After reading nearly 40 books about leadership released this year, my pick for the very best new leadership book of 2014 is, The Front-Line Leader: Building a High-Performance Organization from the Ground Up , by Chris Van Gorder . This book is my top choice because it : Covers the issues most important to today's workplace leaders Provides "real-world" and practical everyday steps you can take Gives you specific techniques and tactics Tells powerful, life-experience stories Capsulizes "Take Action" to do’s for you at the end of each chapter Reveals how to create a culture of accountability that creates a high-performing organization with a competitive advantage And, most important, because the entire premise of the book is: People come first! Today, Van Gorder is the President and CEO at Scripps Health , one of America’s foremost health systems with 14,000 employees and 2,600 affiliated physicians. He has presi

Leadership During COVID-19

The following 10 leadership and business book authors recently answered this question for me: Question: While we surely will find ourselves challenged by COVID-19 in the foreseeable future, what is the most important thing a leader can do as they lead their business/organization? “Leaders have had some great opportunities as a result of COVID-19. Topping the list: hire the best people, not just the best people geographically convenient. The world just gave permission to have people working remotely. Take advantage. As a bonus tip, it is more important than ever to remember that your team is made of humans and this is an extremely difficult time for humans. Build in extra supports for your team.” -- Michael Solomon and Rishon Blumberg, co-authors of, Game Changer . “First, don’t allow yourself to become so overwhelmed and distracted by the uncertainties—what you don’t know—that you lose sight of what you do know, and what you can control. Second, you must establish a protocol for

Don’t EVER Doubt How Leadership Impacts the Employee Experience, Customer Experience, and Overall Brand Experience!

Image Credit: Ryan Plomp via UnSplash Today, I feature an interview with Debbie Laskey , MBA. With two decades of marketing experience and an MBA Degree, Debbie developed her marketing expertise while working in the high-tech industry, the Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France, the nonprofit arena, and the insurance industry. Her expertise includes brand marketing, social media, employee engagement, leadership development, and customer experience marketing. Since 2002, Debbie has served as a judge for the Web Marketing Association’s annual web award competition. Her Blog has been recognized as one of the "Best 21st Century Leadership Blogs" and also as a "Top 100 Socially-Shared Leadership Blog." Be sure to visit both her website and her blog . Debbie and I have known each other since 2009, when we worked together virtually for MicroMentor, Debbie on the West Coast, and me in the Midwest – and Debbie has appeared here on my blog many

Flashback: Best New Leadership Book Of 2014

Flashback to this post from early 2015 : After reading nearly 40 books about leadership released this year, my pick for the very best leadership book for 2014 is, The Front-Line Leader: Building a High-Performance Organization from the Ground Up , by Chris Van Gorder . This book is my top choice because it : Covers the issues most important to today's workplace leaders Provides "real-world" and practical everyday steps you can take Gives you specific techniques and tactics Tells powerful, life-experience stories Capsulizes "Take Action" to do’s for you at the end of each chapter Reveals how to create a culture of accountability that creates a high-performing organization with a competitive advantage And, most important, because the entire premise of the book is: People come first! Today, Van Gorder is the President and CEO at Scripps Health , one of America’s foremost health systems with 14,000 employees and 2,600 affiliated physicians. He has presided

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog