Get Better Results by Asking Better Questions

When my one-on-one clients ask better questions, they get better results.

There are so many small ways that a business (and its business owner) improve through working with us one on one. Many of those changes are so subtle I don’t even notice them. But once in a while, a client shows such progress, that I almost cry with pride and gratitude!

One of my clients did that this week. He asked a MUCH BETTER question. Read on to find out how you can ask better questions, and get better results because of it.  

This particular client used to come to me with questions that only served to frustrate him and make his staff feel bad, last week he asked me a FANTASTIC question!!! This question is sure to get him much better results with his team and his business.

Some examples of “bad” questions are:

• Why did you do that?
• What is wrong with me?
• What did I do to deserve this?

You can see by reading those questions that they will not be able to produce any good results for the asker. Asking yourself or an employee WHY they did something only serves to make them wrong, which will decrease engagement and make them even worse at their job. Don’t do it. 

Asking yourself what is WRONG with you, or what you did to deserve this might be the absolute WORST questions out there! Don’t do this! All it serves to do is beat you up and make you feel bad. When you feel bad, you continue to produce bad results, which will have you ask the same bad question, which will have you produce more bad results… You see what’s happening here.

You don’t want to ask questions that make you or others feel BAD, because feeling BAD produces BAD results. Yes, it really is that simple.People who feel bad produce bad results. Don’t ever forget this!

The opposite is also true. You guessed it! People who feel GOOD produce BETTER results! Ask yourself and your team GOOD questions, and get better results.

Some examples of great questions are:

• What CAN we do?
• How CAN we do better next time?
• How can I be better?
• What else can we do to achieve our desired result?

Keep your questions positive and focused on the possibilities in every situation. Stay away from questions that make people wrong (“Why would you do that?”) or questions that can only produce a negative, defeating answer.

These great questions will get you through the toughest problems and challenges in your business, AND everyone will feel a lot better (which, as a reminder, produces BETTER business results!)

So what was the great question my client asked last week? What was the question that brought tears of pride to my eyes? He asked “How can I be better at disagreeing with my manager?” Wow! Just wow! Needless to say we will focus on that this week.

If you’re interested we’ll be focusing on two keys:

1. Be willing to change your mind, and
2. REALLY listen to their side.

If you feel you need some help to make your company more successful and more enjoyable, contact TMH Business Consulting today for a confidential, free, no-obligation consultation to propel you forward. Also, please feel free to add yourself to our weekly coaching tips email!