It is amazing how many leaders get so busy working “in” their business that they forget to get “above” their business. By focusing on immediate issues they lose perspective. Their vision narrows to short term wins that may not lead to long term success. They spend their time focused on the problems, not the solutions. Leaders need to ask questions to gain clarity and focus.

Early in my career, I worked with a president who had three standard questions that he would ask customers:

Question 1: What are we currently doing well?

Question 2: If we could change anything what would it be and why?

Question 3: Describe for me what a successful vendor relationship looks like for your company? How do you rate our company?

These three questions provided him with a fresh perspective. He was able to identify opportunities for improvement. He challenged his team to find solutions that would improve customer satisfaction and company performance.

Asking the right questions, whether it be with customers, employees or key stakeholders is essential to building great solutions. Uncovering the real issues and adopting a creative “How Might We” mindset to solve these challenges is what leadership is all about.

We recognize that it is important to understand our client’s biggest challenges and by asking tough questions we help leaders get “above” their business. Identifying you organization’s real issues and needs is essential to building solutions that help your Lead, Inspire and Achieve.