Co-Authored by Hratch Sofoian
You know this well: the meeting ends without a single question or request for clarification from the participants. We have all been in meetings where we were hesitant to ask a question and at the end decided not to – even when the boss exclaimed, “Any questions? I want open and frank discussions!” The response: silence or passive agreement to the boss’ ideas.
How many times have you left a meeting and felt there was no connection or engagement between management and you and the other participants? How many times have you felt that you or your colleagues were disconnected and the whole meeting was a waste of time and effort? Indeed, in most cases the meeting failed to create clarity or direction, only more confusion and vagueness concerning the desired outcomes.
Consciously aware and in-tune mangers have to take this unresponsiveness very seriously because the alarm bells are ringing: team members are not engaged, are not on board or, what is far worse, do not believe in their project, their leaders or even in the mission of their company.
Yet sincere and profound question-asking lies at the heart of well-functioning and productive teams. If there are no questions, managers should be deeply worried and they should ask themselves:
Why don’t team members ask questions and what should leaders do about this?
Some reasons why team members don’t speak up during meetings and solutions for management include:
1. Afraid of Making a Mistake and Loosing Face
Leaders should accept and embrace failures and “mistakes” from their team members instead of criticizing them. They should encourage their people to be bold, inquisitive and innovative. All questions should be taken seriously, and leaders have to value each question -- and the question-asker.
2. Unmotivated / Not Incentivized
Managers have to connect with their people according to each individual’s talents, know-how and experience. The leader’s message should be clear, personalized and delivered with authentic passion. Team members should be allowed to challenge leaders – in a respectful fashion. At the same time, leaders have to show their people the goals and opportunities that are not always clearly communicated by the executive management.
3. Introverted Personalities
These personalities can ask wise and profound questions. They are the secret -- yet often ignored -- sources of true innovation. These outliers often have great substance and possess ground-breaking insights. Leaders should address them in small, intimate, non-threatening circles and be specific as possible. They are a great value to the company – if respected, encouraged, supported and appreciated.
4. Fear of Punishment
Very often in meetings the team leader proclaims, “I want to hear your honest opinions and insights!” yet in reality, those team members brave or foolish enough to actually voice their true feelings and ideas are later reprimanded by the team leader for their “negative attitude” or for “not being a team player.” Thus, team leaders kill the very sources of creativity and innovation which businesses need to prosper and grow. Secure leaders must welcome and embrace different viewpoints and fresh perspectives and not perceive these as a threat to their position. New ideas should be encouraged, not silenced.
Bridging the Disconnect
Team members can develop themselves by challenging – in a constructive manner -- their leaders and by being bold and courageous. Enlightened and open bosses will welcome and respect your input. As for personal branding, co-workers will remember and respect their leaders for being open to their questions and curiosity.
Team leaders should learn the value of listening to, respecting and responding to great questions. They should seize this opportunity to grow and expand. Great questions should never be seen through the narrow perspective of the self, but as an open and creative team discussion.
Asking great questions and challenging every management and team member is a vital part of every company’s and team member’s DNA. Only through questions can teams, departments and organizations learn, grow, progress – and enhance revenue.
Get the best out of your questions!
Successful leaders pro-actively encourage their people to ask profound and challenging questions.