5 ways to help your leadership team think deeper, uncover root issues, and make better decisions.
“I love our EOS sessions, and get so much from them. Each time before the session I think to myself, ‘What do we have to talk about?’ Then we get into the session with Barb, and we dive into the meaty topic I didn’t even know we had to talk about.”
Feedback like this from clients is important to share. Not because I want to pat myself on the back, but because it gets at something I believe is important: sometimes, the most valuable thing we can do is ask a question that helps someone see a situation differently.
In an EOS session, my job isn’t to have all the answers. It’s to help leadership teams work through the issues in front of them, even the ones they may not realize are there yet. That means knowing when to push a little, when to slow things down, and when to ask one more question instead of moving on to a solution.
It sounds simple, but asking good questions takes practice. Here are five things I try to keep in mind.
Tip 1: Assume Good Intent
Sometimes a conversation takes a turn you didn’t expect. Maybe someone challenges an idea you feel strongly about, or the team starts talking about something you’d rather avoid. It’s easy to get defensive or start thinking about how to steer the conversation back where you want it to go.
When that happens, I try to pause, take a breath, and remember that everyone in the room is there because they want the business to succeed. We may have very different ideas about how to get there, but assuming good intent gives us a better chance of hearing each other out.
Tip 2: Be Curious
I love it when a question opens up a conversation nobody expected to have. But that only happens when I’m genuinely curious about the answer.
It’s tempting to ask questions that confirm what we already believe. Instead, try asking why someone sees things differently or what might be behind their perspective. You may discover there’s more to the story than you realized, and that’s often where the real work begins.
Tip 3: Make Sure All Voices Are Heard
In most leadership teams, some people are naturally more comfortable speaking up than others. That doesn’t mean they have better ideas. Sometimes the person who hasn’t said much has a perspective the rest of the team needs to hear.
I pay attention to who’s contributing and who might be holding back. Sometimes all it takes is inviting someone into the conversation with a simple question: “What do you think?” The goal isn’t to make everyone agree. It’s to make sure the team has heard from everyone before deciding how to move forward.
Tip 4: Dive to Truly Understand the Root
One of the things I’ve learned working with leadership teams is that the first answer isn’t always the whole answer.
A team might say they have a communication problem. That’s a place to start, but what does that actually mean? Are priorities unclear? Are people avoiding difficult conversations? Is it not clear who owns a decision?
If we stop at the first answer, we risk solving the wrong problem. Asking a few more questions helps us get beneath the surface and understand what’s really getting in the way. That’s when we can start addressing the issue instead of continuing to work around it.
Tip 5: Don’t Ask Leading Questions
This one is especially important when you have a strong opinion about what the team should do next.
There’s a difference between asking a question to understand someone’s thinking and asking a question to get them to agree with you. “Don’t you think we should focus on this first?” may sound like a question, but it already points toward the answer you want.
Instead, try asking, “What do you think we should focus on first, and why?” Then give people room to answer. As a facilitator, my job isn’t to get the team to my answer. It’s to help them find the best answer for their business.
Bringing It All Together
I know from experience that this is easier said than done. When you’re running a business, you have opinions, pressures, and a lot riding on the decisions you make. And if you’re facilitating your own leadership team, it can be especially hard to step out of the conversation and let yourself simply ask the questions.
But that pause can make all the difference.
When a conversation gets uncomfortable, get curious instead of defensive. When you think you know the answer, ask another question. And before the team moves on, make sure you’ve heard the perspectives in the room and understand the issue you’re trying to solve.
You might be surprised by what comes out of the conversation.
If your leadership team is having the same conversations over and over, or you know there are issues you haven’t quite gotten to the bottom of, you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Sometimes, having someone ask the right questions can help you see what’s been right in front of you all along and allows you to be a true participant in the conversation.
If you’d like to talk about what that could look like for your team, I’d be happy to connect.