12 Days of Leadership – Day 6

On the sixth day of leadership, my coach gave to me –

Six Empowering Questions

For our sixth day of leadership, we offer you six empowering questions that will strengthen your leadership, as well as your interactions with others. Empowering questions are open-ended and thought-provoking; they allow another person to discover their own answers and create their own opportunities (that’s the empowering part). Here are six of our favorite empowering questions:

1. What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?
2. A response when someone says, “I don’t know…” Pretend for a minute that you really do know – what comes to mind?
3. How would you describe specifically the ideal outcome as you see it?
4. What’s one small first step you could take toward that goal?
5. How is this situation like another you’ve worked through before?
6. Last, a statement rather than a question (and use this when you are tempted to quickly respond or react): Tell me more…