Share this
Question #1
Last month Windley Works launched the first video in our series, Powerful Questions with Coach Jen. It received positive feedback and I wanted to share what stood out the most for followers. Question #1 is What Does a Powerful Question Mean to You and I encouraged my fabulous participants to tell me about a powerful question that comes to mind, one they have been asked, or maybe one that they ask.
Devon Godfrey of Play Frey Technologies talked about the power and importance in ASKING questions. He shares an example of being at the gun range with his father and it’s a very interesting observation. You can watch the video below. The basic point that Devon makes is that it can be a natural human reaction to complain and feel defeated quickly. He then explains how asking questions is what can lead to solutions and counter defeat. It’s not surprising that his message and real-life example resonated with many viewers.
I know from my own life experience, strong reactions and short tempers were what was mirrored to me growing up. It didn’t get much better in my early career path of sales and then commodities. Reacting is part of how you make money in trading. It doesn’t matter if a market is moving up or down, just as long as it’s moving, that’s where reactions make money. As I’ve transitioned to a career that is defined by the questions I ask and keeping my reactions in check, it is indeed eye opening to consider Devon’s perception that it’s not so much the question itself that is powerful but the art of knowing when to ask questions versus reacting.
And of course, the most obvious of this conclusion is how questions can help us avoid making assumptions. If you are like me however and tend to react first … old habits die hard … then you can still use questions quickly after a reaction to debate and reframe assumptions.
What do you think? How often are you using questions before making assumptions? Have you noticed how when you can ask a question during a reaction, you often find clarity that is the opposite of your reaction?
Maybe the next time you are freaking out over why someone said or did something, you decide to simply ask them why they said or did that. The answer might make perfect sense.
