One Powerful Question

My daughter is four years old, and she asks a lot of questions, on repeat, every.single.day.  

Sometimes she asks question that really gets to the heart of the matter—questions like, What  are you doing? What makes you get up? What’s liberation mean? 

When she asks me questions, I often feel like she’s putting me on the spot. She’s testing me, I think to myself and then I remember…she’s four, girl. It’s not that deep. She literally wants to know what you’re doing.  

So, I simply answer her question, “I am washing the vegetables from the garden…I get up because it’s morning… liberation is being free to live the life you want to lead.” 

She’s teaching me though, reminding me that questions are powerful. Questions are magical tools that help us learn, understand, and relate.  

As an executive coach, my practice centers on asking powerful questions to the remarkable humans I get to walk alongside. Questions are keys that open the doors of possibility. Our answers can unearth the insights we need to evolve. 

As a coach, I use questions to propel conversations. As a manager, I use questions to collect insights and design purposeful solutions. As a mom and partner, I use questions to understand feelings.      

In honor of powerful questions and my daughter’s remarkable curiosity, I am sharing eight powerful questions you can use in any situation to gather insight and create collaborative paths forward. Next time, I’ll combine questions with using spaciousness to get to the heart of a matter.  

Powerful Questions: 

• So, what’s the real challenge? 
• What’s yours to hold? 
• How might this decision cost you? 
• What’s the impact of this decision in five minutes, five weeks, five months, and five years? 
• What do you need to move forward? 
• How does this affirm/conflict your values? 
• What options do you see? 
• What’s the smallest action you can take?