Boost Your Leadership Skills By Disciplining Yourself In The Way Of The Question Mark

I'm often asked to come in to organizations and give a motivational speech to their employees. I reply that I'm not a motivational speaker. Never have been. Never will be. Don't want to be. I do something else. I teach their people how to become motivational leaders. That's a far more productive endeavor.

The concept and application of motivation are misunderstood in most organizations. The motivational industry is based on a fundamental contradiction; because the focus of motivation is misplaced. After all, leaders (salespeople included) should be motivated. If they aren't, they shouldn't be leaders.

Here's where the focus should be: not on the leaders themselves but on the people they lead. Can those leaders transfer their motivation to other people so those people are as motivated as they are about the challenges they face?

Furthermore: Can those people who "catch" the motivation of their leaders then go out and motivate others -- and those others go out themselves and motivate still others ... and on and on?

Finally, can people at each phase of this "cascading of cause leaders" translate motivation into action that achieves results -- and not just average results but more results faster on a continual basis?

All my books, articles, courses, seminars, workbooks and interviews are based on that simple sequence of ideas.

I have written many articles on motivation and how to transfer your motivation to others.

But there is another way of transforming your motivation to others that doesn't take much explaining. It's surprisingly simple, easy to use, and effective. Yet few leaders I've encountered use it, and those who use it, don't use it well.

It's the Way of the Question Mark. A "way" is a course of life one undertakes to advance in a particular discipline.

So it is with the Way of the Question Mark. It is not simply a technique; you'll find it is actually a disciplined course of life. (I've been using it for years and am still a long way from mastering it. Because the question mark is often particularly appropriate in a highly charged emotional situation. However, in such situations, when strong emotions are getting the better of me, it takes practice and discipline to step back, gather my thoughts, and ask a question.)

Practicing the Way of the Question Mark can enhance your relationships with the people you lead so you get a lot more results as a leader.

From now on in all your leadership endeavors, make a conscious effort to put a question mark at what would otherwise be declarative sentences.

Asking the question rather than using a declarative is usually more effective because it gets people reflecting upon their situation. After all, we can't motivate anyone to do anything. They have to motivate themselves. And they best motivate themselves when they reflect on their character and their situation. The question prompts people to answer, and when they are answering, they may engage in such reflection. You may not like the answer; but often their answer, no matter what it is, is better in terms of advancing results than your declaration. Also, their answering the question may prompt them to think they have come up with a good idea. People are less enamored of your great ideas than they are of their ideas, even if those ideas are simply average.

For instance, your organization needs to have people to from point A to point B. An order leader might say, "Go from A to B."

Practicing the Way, one might ask: "Tell me what you think about going from A to B?" or "What's the best way for you to go from A to B?" or "Tell me how I can support you going from A to B?" or "How will you take leadership of others going from A to B?"

Mind you, I'm not talking about pandering to people's whims. I'm talking motivation, motivating people to get more results faster on a continual basis. (In fact, you can't order people to get more results faster continually. Only motivated people can do it.) I'm talking about challenging people to undertake extraordinary things, to be better than they think they are.

The question mark, as opposed to the simple declarative, opens up a world of results-producing possibilities. And it's a world predicated on their choices.

Make the Way of the Question Mark your way. Discipline yourself to ask questions rather than make statements. You'll start getting more results.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. ? and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com

---

The Silent Assassin - What to Do When They Visit You?

IntroductionThere are a group of people in the community that... Read More

Why People Resist Us

There's a one-word reason most ideas never see the light... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management in Conservative, Staid Organisations

Conservative and staid organisations generally have a harder time implementing... Read More

5 Ideas To Leverage The 3 Stages Of Career Development In Your Organization

In most industrialized nations, the average age a student graduates... Read More

Productive Meetings: How to Make Your Meetings More Productive

There's one simple secret to effective meetings: set an agenda... Read More

Too Much Time Treating Symptoms

A man drives down the highway each day on his... Read More

The Cheapest, Forget It !

Wouldn't it be great if we got get the cheapest... Read More

Ten Relationship Traits And Skills For Good Leadership

An important aspect of good leadership is the ability to... Read More

Employee Retention: Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business

The retention of highly skilled knowledge workers is one of... Read More

The Dog That Didnt Bark

A few weeks ago, after consultations with others in an... Read More

Is Your Management Style Assisting or Hurting Your Business?

Many times business owners can have significant differences in management... Read More

Dont Sweat the Small Stuff with Your Credit Policy

Do you know how many customers you have that are... Read More

The Ten Keys to Maximizing Employee Performance

1. Let people know what you expect. If people know... Read More

Project Management - The Traveling Product Manager

Various studies ? and common sense ? indicate that involving... Read More

Delegating Responsibility

Too many managers waste both time and energy performing tasks... Read More

Business Innovation ? the Value of Structure

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

How to Coach Your Employees - 5 Simple Steps Anyone Can Do!

Want to get more from your people, but you don't... Read More

Implementing Change

There are different reactions that individuals experience during time of... Read More

Setting Direction Within an Organization

FINDING DIRECTION: An organization can't succeed without direction. Direction means... Read More

The Changing Boss-Secretary Relationship

THE CHANGING BOSS-SECRETARY RELATIONSHIP: Imagine a partnership at work. One... Read More

Faith is the LIFE-blood of Your ACTIONS before the Benefit -

Nothing has changed. Your ancestors lived by faith. Some planted... Read More

How to Manage Your Most Valuable Assets - People?

People management and leadership has become a major topic of... Read More

Its All In The Systems

Have you ever noticed french fries taste the same at... Read More

The Ins and Outs of Internal and External Relations

INTERNAL PUBLIC RELATIONS: Never overlook an opportunity to do internal... Read More

Employees - Treat Them the Way They Expect to be Treated

When you have to deal with one of your team... Read More

Preparation: Your Companys Best Defense in Case of Catastrophe

You've hung out your shingle and are ready for business.... Read More

Performance Management Made Easy

Performance Management is a process that both employer and employee... Read More

Creativity Management and Behaviour

What behaviour maximises the chances of thinking of great ideas?... Read More

The ?Better Product? fallacy

Another fallacy ingrained in the minds of most marketing managers... Read More

What is the Most Difficult Part of an Improvement Program?

Answer: Starting one.Most of us realize that there is probably... Read More

5 Awesome Actions of Highly Creative Leaders!

How many times have you wondered why you are unable... Read More

Examining the Relationship Between Employee Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction

Researchers have undertaken numerous studies to look at the connection... Read More

Hiring Productive Employees: A Checklist for Assessing Their Appeal

The characteristics of job applicants have a strong influence on... Read More