It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
In this New Year I'm going to continue to explore some leadership quotes that might challenge us, inspire us or remind us of different aspects of the leadership journey. This is part of my personal journey to keep growing, learning and being stretched! Join me each Tuesday at 2:00pm (PST). It will take you just a few minutes to read through the 2 sections of this post, but don't miss the final section where I share some of the things I'm reading, listening to and enjoying this week.
You can find past posts on my website HERE.
Enjoy!
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"Often, all that stands between you and what you want is a better set of questions." Tim Ferriss
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
I've been following Tim Ferriss for a number of years, primarily through a couple of his books and his podcast. I don't listen to every podcast, but I've enjoyed many as he interviews a wide variety of people and asks questions of productivity, performance and many times really interesting conversations. He did a Ted Talk entitled "Why you should define your fears instead of your goals."
This quote is from Tim Ferris in his book, Tribe of Mentors, and it's been said in different ways from different people for years, but this thought resonated with me today as I think about QUESTIONS.
Warren Berger, in his book A More Beautiful Question says simply, "You don't learn unless you question."
Why are we afraid of asking questions?
We're afraid of being EMBARRASSED. Asking questions makes us vulnerable and it lets others know that we don't have the answer.
We're not willing to do the WORK. Asking questions often leads us in new directions and many times we just want the easy route.
We're used to being TOLD WHAT TO DO and questions are discouraged. Questions can be viewed as challenging or testing.
We're don't take the TIME. We're in too much of a hurry and we don't stop long enough to figure out what questions to ask.
What keeps you from asking questions when you have them? Why do you stay quiet instead of bringing something up?
DEEPER STILL:
Early in my career, I remember leaving a meeting and having a bunch of questions. I was afraid to ask them for a number of reasons:
I was the new person
I was young
I didn't have the experience of the others
I didn't see the big picture
I hadn't earned the right to ask questions yet
I was told to "listen and learn"
I wasn't asked what my opinion was
I just didn't know what was really going on
I remember having all of these thoughts and feelings and not being able to voice them. I felt shut down, I felt undervalued, I felt looked over.
I lived and worked in that zone for a couple of years until I couldn't handle it anymore, and I remember the day I had the courage to "ask the question".
Once I did, I couldn't live with the answers I was given and that let to me transitioning to another role, but the question was the thing that triggered the conversation.
Today, I value questions from people who are new, who are young, who have different experience than mine, from people who see a different picture, from people who want a seat at the table.
It's refreshing, it's challenging and sometimes it's more work, but I'm always BETTER because of the questions I get and the process I go through to address those questions.
How do you encourage others to ask questions?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
Find out more about Tim Ferriss
I watched a great documentary on Sylvester Stallone this past week while traveling. Check out SLY on Netflix. His movie Rocky was a major influence on my life and his story is a good one.
OK, I spent some time on planes this past week, but I really enjoyed the series on Apple: Messi Meets America. What a story!
Spent some time on the East Coast of the U.S. this past week, and experienced the best lobster roll ever at Portland Lobster Company (see picture below!)
Reading this book, "A More Beautiful Question" by Warren Berger