Читать книгу Better Leaders Ask Better Questions - Lindsay Ph.D Tighe - Страница 14

As managers, our greatest challenges nearly always relate to people, and in particular being able to motivate, engage and get the most out of our teams. Over the years, I have learnt that there is no magic wand that you can wave to achieve these outcomes, although managers and leaders who are able to build their skills to get these outcomes are the ones everyone loves to work for, and are the ones who achieve amazing results with their teams.

So whilst I cannot promise you that magic wand, after you have read this book I can promise that if you put the techniques into practice you will certainly be a better leader than most, and undoubtedly one who people enjoy working with. You will also have a team that is empowered, engaged and achieves great results.

Research carried out a number of years ago suggests that in a typical workplace up to 60 per cent of people’s potential is not used. The main reason for this is the inability of managers, through lack of awareness and skills, to create a culture that values people using more of their potential in the workplace, and typically these managers adopt a ‘telling’ style. Indeed, most managers adopt this style because it is what is passed on to them by their peers and it is what they think is required of them in their role.

In my experience in typical workplace cultures years ago, ‘telling’ people what to do was the norm and I see little evidence to suggest that this is not commonplace in many workplaces today – and I have worked with a lot of organisations! In fact, whenever I share this opinion in workshops I have never had anyone disagree with me, and they invariably confirm that this is standard practice in their own workplaces. On a positive note, I am going to suggest that by creating a culture where asking Better Questions is the norm, we will tap into the potential of our teams and the 60 per cent of unused potential will be an historical statistic.