Words. They are so powerful, don’t you think? They can inspire or incinerate. Your words have a deeper impact on your team than you might realize. Top project managers know how to inspire their team members to achieve rewarding heights. They are able to move from mentor to manager by asking the right questions. These are the top ten questions project managers ask to empower their teams.
1) Can you help me solve it?
Do you know the value of synergy and collaboration? It means that we can all do more together. Perhaps you have already decided how you want to approach a particular project. Your team may have great ideas. As a leader, the worst thing you can do is try to convince your team members to adopt your idea. Instead of giving marching orders, let your employees help you solve the problem.
When they are involved in the creation of a concept, people are more likely to own it. They feel their work is theirs and not someone else’s. Don’t you think it’s better to let your children do things than listen to a crying baby on the plane? The same applies to a project. Your team will be more comfortable with bumps in the road if they feel they were involved in creating the direction.
2. What is the purpose of the project, and not the potential profit?
We get it. Everyone wants to make money. This is a fact for all businesses. Great leaders see beyond the obvious and find the underlying factors that inspire their employees. People want to be validated. They want to know that their hardwork has a positive impact. They want to see the larger impact of their unique knowledge and insights on the overall picture. They want to be aligned with a company that shares their values.
IKEA, for example, understood how to motivate their employees and customers by prioritizing their values over profit. In 1995, they discovered that some of the factories that made their carpets used child labor. Ingvar Kampard (the founder of IKEA) and his team immediately took action and made sure that their company would not work with any manufacturer that exploited children. UNICEF was partnered with them to create a program to stop child labor. It would target the underlying conditions that allow it to thrive, such as poverty, illiteracy and hunger. The program currently helps more than 500 villages in India’s Carpet Belt with an estimated population 1.3 million. What motivated did these employees feel to work for IKEA once this happened?
3. What can we learn from this?
Lectures are not something that anyone likes. People love to listen to lectures when things go wrong. This does not inspire people. If you face obstacles due to the work or lack thereof in your team’s training, it is important to switch from telling to teaching, lecturing to listening, and chastising towards coaching. People want to be successful. Asking questions and listening to their perspectives can help turn a difficult moment into a learning opportunity.
The best communicators don’t talk at people, they relate to them. They often let people come up with their own conclusions. They usually know when someone has made a mistake. It is much easier for them to accept responsibility. It is not the person who dominates the conversation or talks over the other person. It’s the person who asks the right questions and brings about lasting improvements.
4. What can I learn from you to help you succeed
Do you enjoy cooking? Even if your best creation is a microwaveable mac and cheese, it’s important to understand the importance of a recipe if you want to create a masterpiece. Many people follow a recipe but don’t know the ingredients. A passionat