Ask yourself: “Who owns this situation?” (By the way, this isn’t just for business. Try this with your teenage sons and daughters. The power struggle gets unplugged.)
If I tell someone what to do, I own it - and the outcome. They are living out my wishes.
If you ask instead, ‘What do you plan to do?’ the ownership is on the other person. Their decisions will determine their outcomes.
In too many conversations, we shift the ownership to ourselves by telling others what they need to do. They comply with our instructions, but do not commit, because we keep the ownership. This is another reason not to give recommendations too soon. If I supply the answers, I have not given the other person the creative experience of developing their own solutions.
Questions encourage people to commit not just comply.
Lessons from “The Listener”
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