Ten Questions for Connection
Earlier this month I facilitated a Breakthrough Offsite for 24 leaders in an organization undergoing profound change. In addition to change, the other key theme was new: new people in new roles in new team configurations.
All of that new presented an interesting challenge: how to help these leaders have meaningful interactions with their colleagues -- the kind of interactions that lead to "I'd love to grab more time and keep this conversation going."
To answer that challenge, I constructed an exercise using ten thought provoking questions from my 1:1 coaching -- the questions that have clients responding with "That's a really good question! I am definitely going to spend time with it." Here are three of my favorite questions from that list:
I am nourished when ...
I am depleted when ...
An unhelpful story I tell myself is ...
Aren't those GREAT questions? To see the complete list, just download this PDF.
In case you'd like to try this exercise during your next offsite or team meeting, here's how I structured it for the client I referenced:
Each leader received the questions the night before the offsite started. That gave them an opportunity to reflect on their answers.
At the beginning of the day I asked one of the leaders to help me demo a two minute "speed sharing". She asked me each question, I quickly shared my response, and then we switched at roughly the one minute mark.
Any time during the day when the team's energy began to fade, we paused, pulled up, and took two minutes for this exercise. Participants paired off with someone they hadn't yet connected with.
When I first previewed the ten questions with my client she remarked, "These are really profound questions for the team to reflect on." Even if you're a team of one, marinating in these questions can yield incredible insights.
Finally, I would love to know your favorite question from the list! (Remember to download the PDF of all ten questions.) You can use the Work With Me form on my website to reach out.
PS: Speaking of questions, when is your next offsite? Is your team aligned around the big questions to answer? How's the agenda design going? Is your anxiety level increasing after reading those three questions? Please drop me a note! I design and facilitate Breakthrough Offsites that bring teams together for meaningful conversations that lead to meaningful outcomes -- and a lot less stress for you. I'd love to help!