US Congress on Capitol Hill is probably an unlikely place for coaches to pick up hints and pointers towards better personal performance. I’ve noticed however that allegedly smart and well-educated members of the Senate that are engaging with Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook are displaying a lack of skill in one area vital to the success of coaches – questioning. I’m not alone.
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak” (Epictetus)
The lacking in this skill is obvious in some of the footage you watch and the less-than-adequate levels of prep that have gone in questions is obvious. Equate this with a coaching scenario…….it typically involves the coach having all the answers and facilitating a ‘paint-by-numbers’ session. This likely won’t help the development of players/athletes (or employees) who need to think for themselves and/or make develop decision making skills.
Achieving the right answers means being able to formulate and position questions. A bad approach to this, as we see in Congress, means poor answers – or no answers at all. It’s not about being good at interrogation techniques though – it’s about being able to drive a conversation that funnels towards the answers that lead to progress, clarity and new ways of thinking about the subject at hand. Questions can make us challenge our assumptions and lead to seeing things in new ways from internal and external perspectives.
And you know what? They don’t even have to be great questions…..just the right ones!
Paul Clarke operates Match-Fit (visit us at www.matchfitireland.com ). More and more teams, clubs and organisations are engaging me all with the end goal of helping coaching & performance staff make better decisions, win more games & to drive the overall return the club enjoys in performance and business terms.
If you’re interested in effecting positive performance change resulting in higher revenue and lower operating costs, I’d be happy to share some of the things delivering success for our customers around the world.
We can connect via phone or web-call – what’s best for you??
Mail me now to paul@matchfitireland.com , call +353 86 8595155 or Skype paul.clarke812
