The end of a Discover Your Best Thinking with Precision Q+A workshop can feel like New Year’s Eve. It is an opportunity to think and communicate differently, and to use our new Q+A skills to think and collaborate deeper. But like many New Year's resolutions, the changes we swore we were going to make can soon be forgotten if we don’t establish a routine. Why It’s So Hard to Change Our workplace conversations differ dramatically from social conversations, where questions are often … [Read more...]
Groups and Teams
The one question that yields better focus
We have all noticed that our attention is in constant demand. Multiple communication channels, myriad interruptions, and technological distractions can keep us from bringing our full presence to our work. At Vervago, we have recently re-named a category of question, formerly Go/NoGo Questions, as Focus Questions, reflecting the growing importance of controlling our energy and attention in our work. This growing prominence of Focus Questions for the quality of work is reflected in psychologist … [Read more...]
“Great Question”
David, a Sr. Finance Manager who participated in a recent Discover Your Best Thinking with Precision Q+A workshop in Silicon Valley, asked: “Sometimes I say ‘That's a great question' before I answer questions in meetings. Should I be more direct and just answer?" It depends on the type of meeting. This month’s Skill Sharpener addresses David’s question in relation to collaborative problem-solving meetings. Next month we’ll address his question in the context of review … [Read more...]
Three ways to build your credibility right now
Have you noticed that we live in a work world that is consistently presenting us with a thorny communication challenge? Tasks are more complex, while people seem less able to focus. In the face of this challenge, how do you build your credibility and stand out as a thought leader? Revisit these cornerstone concepts from Precision Q+A: Crisp, clear, and concise. They will help you successfully present your best thinking, even in a distracted world. Speed is at a premium in our communication … [Read more...]
Escape from unnecessary meetings with grace
We don’t mean to sound irreverent, but when was the last time you asked: “Do I need to be here?” Go/NoGo Questions are invaluable in helping us examine the bigger picture of how we use precious resources at work. Almost all of us feel like we have too many urgent things to do, too many meetings to attend, and too many channels of communication to monitor. So, we need to be asking ourselves and our colleagues more often: Do I need to be here? And do you? It is easy to work in a reactive mode, … [Read more...]
The Go/NoGo Question you need to ask today
Go/NoGo Questions are the ones we use to ask about the process of our thinking rather than the content. When we are constantly bombarded by IM, email, text messages, and social media feeds, on top of our typical day full of work, a new type of Go/NoGo Question jumps to the forefront: we call it the Mental Ecology Go/NoGo. The Go/NoGo category of questions is one of the most underutilized categories, because we become prisoners of our habitual reactions rather than active managers of our own time … [Read more...]