Be the Question, Not the Answer

By Clay S. Nelson - President, Consulting Services Network LLC

"Be the question, not the answer." Easy enough, right? Well not for everyone, and for growing leaders this advice is some of the best there is. After all, how many times a day does a team member walk into your office and ask you a question and you automatically pop off the answer? This may be a time savings in the present, but what about in the future? What did you really teach them and do they own the answer? And in providing the answer, you assume that you are right . . . that yours is the best way, but is it really?

Most often we learn how to do something; what actions to take in a given situation, and how things work by experiencing them ourselvesby creating a plan of action, following the plan and succeeding, or not. And it is your job, as a leader, to ask the questions of your team that help them discover the answers for themselvesit is your job to make room for your team to make mistakes, to not make them wrong when they do, and to make sure they get where the error occurred so they know not to make the same mistake next time.

This is how we grow. This is how we learn. After all, how would children really know what a worm felt like if we never allowed them to touch the worm themselves? Very few toddlers will ever understand what happens when you invert a glass of milk until they do it themselves and witness the waterfall-like effect of the milk careening off of the table. So who are we to stifle this natural curiosity and why do we as adults seem to often lack this natural part of our being? We want the answers to our questions without having to get there ourselves because:

We want to 'know' and have a hard time being with "I don't know."
We don't want to look bad should our resolution to the question not be a great one.

So who do you have to be in order for your team to step up and be willing to grow?

You have to be willing to grow, too.
You have to be with "I don't know."
You have to give up looking good.
You have to ask for help when you need it.
You have to be the question, and not the answer!

Now, I am not suggesting that you cross your fingers, hoping that the ripcord on your team's parachute actually works, as you throw them off of a cliff. What I am suggesting is that you step up to the plate, contribute to the growth of your team members, and allow your team to contribute to you and your company. This is the only way your team, company and you can grow.
So, what are you waiting for?

Clay S. Nelson, the founder of Consulting Services Network LLC, and his team are committed to putting fun, family and financial freedom into everyones business and personallives. With over two decades of experience coaching business leaders in creating life balance, building teams, and writing plans, their programs are designed to alter the culturesof companies and families. They make a powerful and lasting difference with each person they meet, every group they speak with, and with every client they serve.