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At a time of immense pressure on both the health and care system and on individuals, how are you finding space to think or to download your leadership experiences? How as a leader or manager are you helping others to do the same?
Why conversations matter
At a time of immense pressure on both the health and care system and on individuals, how are you finding space to think or to download your leadership experiences? Good peer or managerial support to process shared experiences can create a sense of camaraderie and of being ‘in it together’. This can help individuals and teams move through, and beyond, the current context in good physical and mental health. In challenging times, the need for leaders and managers to connect with colleagues and create a sense of cohesion is especially important. So how can we use peer support structures to find the space to think?
Coaching can help us to find this space: coach and coachee work together in a journey of discovery about ‘what could be’. Neither assumes they know best, but both are committed to questioning and learning. These conversations do not need to be long to be useful.
Asking the right questions
Schein (2013) has written about ‘humble inquiry’ – the gentle art of asking questions. We might think we all already know how to ask questions, but to discover ‘what could be’, asking questions must be accompanied by a willingness to listen to the answers with humility. This changes questioning into a vehicle for connecting, hearing and being heard, building trust, modelling strength, vulnerability and learning. This creates a genuine space to think, grounded in a spirit of alongsidedness.
So which questions can you start to ask both yourself and others? Here are some suggestions to get you started.
What’s happening?
What are you noticing?
How are you feeling?
What patterns are you noticing?
What are you learning?
What can you now do?
What do you now need?
How can I help?
But remember asking is only part of the journey, listening and thinking are needed to move you to 'what could be'.
Reference: Schein EH (2013). Humble inquiry: the gentle art of asking instead of telling. Oakland, California, US: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
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