How can I ignite imagination?

Gary Beck says that igniting imagination comes from rubbing minds together. With all of his leadership and marketing experience (as former President of FCB Database Marketing Group and former Executive Director of Database and Infrastructure for vehicle sales and services marketing at General Motors), he ought to know.

Naturally, questions are an integral part of bringing people (and minds) together. At your next strategic planning session, consider starting with personal accumulation: asking each group member to write down all the potential solutions that they can think of to a particular question. When pens come to a rest, ask group members to share one idea, then proceed in order around the room until all potential solutions have been voiced. In doing so, everyone will get heard, and group members will listen closely so that they don't repeat an idea.

Be sure to use open-ended questions that don't point responders to your opinions or cut off potentially creative avenues.

Here are some questions you might ask:

• What is most important to the customer?
• What are clearly differentiable aspects of the product that we are trying to sell to the customer?
• How do we best communicate this particular aspect to our target customer?
• Who is our target customer?

Some group members may generate a ton of ideas—inspired either by the promise of getting their ideas heard or in a spurt of competitive energy. Some group members may not thrive under this time-pressured scenario, so don't cast judgment. They may well prove their worth in the development and support of others' ideas.

Not all ideas will be usable, of course, or worthy of extended discussion, but don't dismiss anything initially. The biggest impediment to creativity is having critics or skeptics in the room. The group will take its cues from you, the leader/moderator. Make it clear up front that all ideas are welcome—no matter how hare-brained or obvious or radical they may first appear. Those ideas may be the ones most easily missed—and perhaps most indispensable.

Increase Team Member Accountability

Dear Coach,
I own and run a company, but my leadership skills are sometimes lacking. My Senior Team refers to me as “Mr. Softy,” because I fail to discipline those who breach company policies. I am having particular difficulty with my VP of Sales. While he does bring in new accounts, he consistently enters them incorrectly and causes all sorts of problems for production staff. My team keeps telling me to “let him have it,” but I am not sure what to say. How do I make him accountable without simply firing or threatening to fire him?

Congratulations! You are already demonstrating great leadership wisdom by seeking solutions aside from threatening job loss. The accountability you want would never develop from firing or threatening to fire, anyway. Exceptional leaders build accountability and empower their employees by asking them questions. My philosophy of leadership is “ask, don’t tell.” Although you have identified the VP of Sales as causing the current problems, make sure you have all the facts. This could be a great opportunity for you to build accountability – not just in this employee, but in all your employees.

I suggest holding a company-wide meeting, focused on the big picture of how sales orders are processed. Use the situation with the VP of Sales as an example, and ask, “Is this order representative of how this company functions?” Either everyone will agree, or an interesting discussion will ensue between the disagreeing parties. Sometimes, your role as a leader is to stay out of the middle and simply facilitate. The managers of your various departments likely understand the facts better than you do, and it is perfectly ok to admit this. Enter the meeting with an open mind. Even if your employees begin by arguing and finger-pointing, they will eventually work through to the facts. You may need to pepper the conversation with questions, but try not to give answers.

Once the group has pinpointed the actual problem and the individual(s) involved, begin discussing solutions. Ask simply, “How would you like to solve this?” Even if you have solutions in mind, great leadership requires you to trust others to develop their own answers. Given this is the first time you have undergone this process, I suggest you stay in the meeting. Continue to only ask questions, and if asked your opinion, refrain from giving it. Remind your managers that you trust them to run their departments and make money for your company, so surely you trust them to solve issues, such as this one. Initially, this entire process may be extremely time-consuming and frustrating for everyone involved. Be confident that you are moving in the right direction! Your employees will soon become more energized as they feel empowered, and the time will prove well worthwhile. By the end of this process, you too will find your power and realize you built accountability by merely asking questions.

Remember: Ask, don’t tell.

When is my curiosity a detriment to the organization?

When you log onto the Internet, do you stay focused on your search exclusively, or do you occasionally follow strings of curiosity? We often go where our curiosity takes us, which is human nature and usually fun. Problems arise, however, when our curiosity takes someone else for a ride.

If you are conversing with a subordinate about their work, be sure to frame your questions. Explain why you are asking the question (you want to gather information to make a decision yourself or you want to learn about how this person is making a particular decision, for example), so that your subordinates do not make presumptions about what they should or should not be doing. If you fail to frame your questions, even if the setting is informal, your subordinates might assume that you want them to set a new course using your questions as a guide. They might, for instance, take a simple clarification question (“Why are you using the hand-carved ornaments?”) as an indication that they should have made a different decision (factory-made ornaments).

It is okay to be curious. In fact, it is probably a trait that helped transform you into a leader. But be sure to let your subordinates know when you are just being curious, so they can better assess how to proceed with their work.

John Urban of Pioneer Hi-Bread International wanders around the company at least one day each month. He might walk into someone’s cube, look at his or her nameplate, and ask, “So, Peter, any new surprises in accounting lately?” Whether there happened to be any new surprises or not, John always shared with the employee the reason for his question before leaving. He found if he did not communicate the “why,” the employee was likely to wonder about the reason for the CEO’s visit. Was there an accounting surprise that I should have found? I best go look closer at what I have done just to make sure.

The old adage “a small turn from the captain of the ship will turn major wheels down below” holds true. Know clearly what you want to accomplish with your questions and frame your questions so your subordinates know the “why.” If you are not clear, you might wind up with unintended consequences—like factory-made ornaments or a shift in accounting practices.

Ego vs. Altruism

Why is it important to lead with questions? Why this strategy over others?

Organizations are made up of people. Like you, every employee has his/her own goals, aspirations, concerns, experiences, and dreams. And each of us has an ego. The ego allows us to believe that we are capable of performing many tasks successfully. In all likelihood, your ego is what propelled you to a leadership position. Your great effort and desire to succeed led to major accomplishments and accolades.

Here comes the paradox. Egos can vault you into a leadership position, but as a leader, you must set your ego aside. Your ego can prevent you from being an effective and truly great leader.

Before you became a leader, you likely operated as an individual contributor. You used your creativity and resourcefulness to meet objectives—a reduction of resources, an increase in quality, or an increase in revenue. If you asked questions, they were about how you could accomplish a specific task. In general, however, your ego discouraged you from asking questions and disliked having to follow orders. Egos want to accomplish and achieve. And, egos crave recognition from others.

Every time you accomplished a task and met the objective, your career moved forward and your standing in the organization or community grew. With each accomplishment, your ego grew, too. You asked fewer questions and provided more answers. After all, with your success, others came to you as an oracle of information—perhaps even your boss or your boss’s boss. You were in control.

As a leader, you must relinquish control. You must shrink your ego and concentrate on altruism. Your career advancement is no longer task-oriented. Leadership is about allowing others the chance to achieve and flourish. You advance as a leader only when you place your employees’ egos above your own. The heads of many organizations are not able to do this. Their companies may still succeed based upon their drive for individual success, but they are not true leaders. For one thing, their employees will not be inspired to reach their full potential because they know they will not receive full credit for their efforts.

General Jack Chain is a true leader. When he was in the Pentagon, serving as a staff officer, his ten-year-old daughter asked him, “What do you do?” He thought for a minute and said, “I answer questions.” Later, when he was made a commander, he reminded his daughter of their earlier conversation. She asked him how his new role would be different. His response: “Now I ask the questions.”

As a leader, why should you lead with questions? Because questions confer power and control to your employees. It allows their egos a chance to shine. And you, they, and the organization will all be better served.