Chad Silverstein explains how top leaders ask better questions to get clearer answers. He cites the book 'Change Your Questions, Change Your Life' and shows how asking hard questions when someone withdraws or underperforms reveals more than a résumé ever could.
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If you haven't heard about the book Change youe Questions, Change youe Life, this is something that all the new built lead clients usually get recommended early on in the process. The book is incredible. It's an easy book to read. We call it Candy because you can finish it in two days. And it's one of those books you just don't put down. And the melody line is, change your questions, change your life. And the power behind asking good, curious questions, it's unbelievable. The best leaders ask the best questions. And if you think about the scenarios that you come across as a leader, whether you're interviewing people, whether you're trying to figure out if someone's a good business to do business with, you're trying to vet certain vendors, you're trying to hire an attorney, you want your accountants, whatever the case, you know, most people are just talking about themselves. They just want to be known for whatever it is that they're known for. And they're not doing their due diligence to not interrogate, but to be Curious George and to just ask the right questions and then question those answers. Because usually the first answer is not so good. This is why in Build to Lead practice, if you've ever been in one, we ask someone to speak and then when they share whatever there is, they're thinking. Usually you'll hear one of the builders say, say it again. You know, and usually after the second time gets a little bit better. And you know what, say it one more time. Usually then the person just ccd clear, concise, direct. They pop it out and you could see the difference. They just say it with such clarity, such pop. But typically, what happens when people answer their first time? They're not thinking, they just respond to whatever it is they're reacting to, whatever it is you ask them, asking the best questions, being very, very thoughtful into why you're asking certain things and what you're trying to gain from their answers, and then questioning those answers tells you so much more than a resume, a background check, a reference check, and same goes with your teammates. When people are underperforming and when you know something's going wrong in their life because they've gone dark, tune into that. Ask good questions. And don't go easy on your questions. Sometimes you gotta ask the hard questions. They just have to be asked. And if you don't ask them, nobody will. So you have to, especially if you're leading anyone or anything, the best questions can change your life.
