Closed and Open Questions

When communicating there are 2 types of questions that need to be used, depending on the situation.
Closed questions are those that have the answer "yes" or "no".  An example may be: Is this due tomorrow?  The answer is Yes.  Another example may be: Will you be in tomorrow?  The answer is No.  Basically these questions are asked when you are looking for a very matter of fact answer.  These types of questions are appropriate in job interviews when confirming experience.  For example, if you are hiring a customer service rep, you may ask if they have telephone experience.  Once the answer Yes or No is given, you can move on to other questions or end the interview if you need someone with that experience and they answer No.

Open questions are ones where you are wanting or allowing more information to be provided.  These questions start with: Who? What? Where? Why? When? or How?  For example in interviewing for your customer service rep, you may ask How long have you worked in a field where you were answering the phone?  This gives you a lot more information than the closed question above and allows them to feel comfortable with providing more information.

In my Train-The-Trainer Leadership certificate, we were asked to solve a riddle.  Using only 10 closed questions, figure out what happened.  Remember I can only answer "yes" or "no" and nothing else.

2 men were on the top of a mountain.  One of them was dead.  Both had backpacks, one was full and one was empty.  What happened?

Try this with some co-workers and stay tuned for the second part in a couple of days.

You can reach me via email at tara@twinlifecoaching.ca or feel free to check out our website too at www.twinlifecoaching.ca.

Till next time!

Tara

Communicate to be Understood

Today I want to focus on your communication, not those of others.  We want to be understood in the way we expect to be, but this does not always happen.  Why?  Because we may not be clear in our words, use words that could have different meanings to different people, or even have visual signals that show something different.

If you want to be understood, be sure you are being clear.  This means that when we are going to be in the 5km race I discussed in an earlier post, we are clear on what our participation means.  I am not a runner, so I am there as a vendor to raise money for the charity.  If we take an example of a manager asking an employee to complete a task, we may say I need this done for tomorrow.  What we really mean is I need it done by lunch tomorrow for a meeting in the afternoon, but we were rushing to give the employee instructions.  We will be disappointed in our employee tomorrow when it is not done on time, but this could be entirely our fault, not our employees.  If we are not clear in the timeline expectation, our employee may prioritize their work to ensure yours is done by end of day tomorrow.  Being clear with your words and expectations is very important, as is deadlines.  We want our team to succeed as much as we want to succeed.  Remember, they are your back up crew.  They are your team, so ensure they are given the communication you want them to hear.

One way to ensure you know they are understanding what you are trying to say is to ask a question.  For example: How will you prioritize your work to ensure I can get that report by tomorrow at noon?  This open question allows for more conversation and clarity to your expectation.

If you are struggling with an employee getting work done on time, accurately, etc, then first ask yourself if they truly know what the expectation is.  I was in a training one time where they explained that a leader may be on a path and believe that their employees are on the same path.  However, one little miscommunication could mean that you are on the path heading North and your employee is headed South.

We will chat more about open questions in a future blog, as these can be key to clear understanding.

As always, feel free to check out our website at www.twinlifecoaching.ca or to email me at tara@twinlifecoaching.ca.

Comments welcome

This is just a short post to let my readers know that positive comments and questions are always welcome.  As leaders we need to share what works and what does not, so be sure to let me know if you have questions or ideas that can be shared with others reading.

Please note that negative or defamatory comments are not welcome on this blog.  This is about positive change and leadership growth, so those will be removed.

I look forward to seeing what others have to say and will share more about communication in the days to come.

I am available via email at tara@twinlifecoaching.ca or you can check out what we have to offer and articles on our web page at www.twinlifecoaching.ca

Have a great evening!

Tara

What is Communication?

Now that you know a bit about me and my journey (and I will share more as I go), it is time to dig in to some of the fundamentals of being a great leader.

It should not be a surprise at all that Communication is one of the key fundamentals to being a great leader.  So what is communication anyway?  In its basic definition, it is sharing information.  However, as a leader it is much more than just that.

Everyone takes in lots of information each second.  They brain can take in a lot, but only processes a handful.  This may be why we miss things.  I have a bad habit of not seeing people I know at the mall because I am focused on what I am buying or where I am going, so my mind is not focused on taking in other information.  It is not until I hear my name, most times, that I recognize my friend is standing right there in front of me...always an embarrassing moment.

What a leader needs to ensure, and I will touch on each of these in future blogs, is on communicating to be understood, taking in information to understand, being an active participant in communication, practise active listening, using proper questioning techniques, using constructive feedback AND accepting it, and always ensuring you hear or read what they actually want you to.  What one person says can be interpreted in many different ways.  Today I will leave you with 1 example:

I say to someone: "I am going to participate in a 5km race next weekend.  I am very excited as it is for charity."

You hear that I am running a 5 km race next Saturday, I am asking you to sponsor me for charity and I am happy about it.

What I meant was that I am a vendor at a 5km race next Sunday, a proceed of my sales will go to the charity, and I am very happy about it.

This is what I mean by ensuring you communicate to be understood and take in information to understand.  How do you do that?  By being specific in what you say and asking questions to ensure you properly understood.

Practice being more specific with your next communications.  But be sure to not talk down to the other party.  I will leave you with what I could have said from above.

"I am going to be a vendor at a 5km race next Sunday.  I am very excited as I am donating 5% of all my sales to the charity of the run."

Till next time!
Tara

Feel free to email me at tara@twinlifecoaching.ca or visit our website for articles and more information on our life and business coaching at www.twinlifecoaching.ca.

Have a vision.

Having a vision and a goal was key to me growing in my position.  You can do this by creating a personal vision board, working with a coach, posting a picture of your dream, writing it down and so many other ways.  But most importantly you must have a vision.  Whether it is to grow yourself or your team, you need to know what road you are on and where the end is.  Only then can you begin to take a step forward on your leadership path.

I did just that.  I knew I wanted to be a manager and leader one day.  However, my company is small and growth is limited.  I was patient, but I learned everything I could about different jobs and positions.  I started in customer service, moved to accounting, worked in quality, loved doing pricing, was given Human Resources and now manage many different departments.   I love learning and every leader needs to continually learn and educate themselves.  I made it to manager status back in 2010.  Becoming a leader in my company meant being a person people could count on and trust.

I will share some tips and tricks to becoming an effective leader that I have learned over the years, as well as having your awesome team behind you.  Today I challenge you to set your vision, your goal, where you want to be and want to become as a leader.

You can reach me by emailing tara@twinlifecoaching.ca or check out our website at www.twinlifecoaching.ca.

Tara