How asking the right questions will elevate your growth as a leader

Thank you for listening to The Champion Forum Podcast with Jeff Hancher! Two things can transform who you become: what you consume and who you surround yourself with. Effective leaders need to listen, reflect, and learn continually. But they can’t do any of those things without asking the right questions first. Today on The Champion Forum Podcast we discuss how asking the right questions will elevate your growth as a leader.

“Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result,

they get better answers.” - Tony Robbins

Ask Yourself These Two Questions

1. How are you being intentional to ensure you are getting around the right people who can transform who you become as a leader?

2. When you get around these people what are you asking them?

My Favorite Questions To Ask Successful Leaders

1. How do you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

Even if you already have a process for refreshing your skills, you can expose yourself to a new approach by asking others questions regarding their personal development practices.

2. What’s the most important risk you took and why?

Leaders sacrifice a lot to reach their position. When they answer this question, some risks they took may bring about exciting memories while others may evoke strong emotions of regret. Understanding the successful and unsuccessful risks other leaders took can help you take productive risks.

3. What skills are lacking among today’s leaders?

Being in a leadership position can often make us overly confident, but it helps to check in with others to improve upon things you are not aware of. Their response will help you identify and reflect on your strengths and weaknesses.

4. How do you ensure you are hiring the right people?

Employees are the foundation of any organization. Even with a great resume and cover letter, some candidates may lack the necessary skills or techniques to excel on your team. Understanding how they hire will likely introduce you to new hiring strategies and reveal new employee traits to be looking for. Some of my most effective interview questions have come from asking this question.

5. How do you keep your team motivated despite challenges?

This question will show you how they cast vision and how they help their organization achieve its goals. Good leaders know that people need more than great pay. Every great leader will tell you that it is critical to keep morale high and the team motivated even in the face of adversity. Asking this question will give you meaningful insight and debunk the myth that money alone will make people happier.

Q: What questions do you ask successful people? When was the last time you asked questions of someone more successful than you? What were some of your favorite insights from that conversation?

Application Activities

1. Pay it forward! Take the opportunity to take an intern or entry-level employee out to lunch. Share wisdom with them and allow them to ask you any question they want. If they are unprepared for the conversation, share some of your favorite questions to ask other leaders.

2. Set a goal for the number of leaders you want to interview this year. A goal of 12 would mean intentionally finding one other leader you can learn from every month. You can find leaders in the seat next to you on an airplane, through LinkedIn, or at a local networking lunch. The more you dedicate yourself to this process the more diverse perspective you will have on leadership.