5 key questions to unlock employee potential

Got this great Quora question - What are the five questions an employee could be asked to make the greatest difference in understanding their relationship with management?

What an outstanding question. It strikes me as a great question because it connotes the idea that employees (most of us working) need to be accountable for their success in an organization or career. So, let’s set a little context before I answer the question (all based on my experience and opinion). 

Context

- The employee is working in a role that they are interested in and for a company where they want to work. This person is interested in being successful, fulfilling their goals, and advance in their career. With that as the backdrop, here goes:

1. What is it that you do better than 90% of people?

This could be one of the most critical questions that a leader can ask. 

2. How do you like to be rewarded (other than a sack of money or your paycheck)?

This question can give great insight into the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of a teammate. Knowing this can help a leader shape projects so that people can get the most out of them. Also, it enables a leader to reward for a job well done with something that a teammate actually feels good about getting. If you’re curious about the true science of motivation, watch this great video by Daniel Pink on his book Drive (insert link)

3. How do you want to be known with your peers, customers and leaders?

This questions enables a leader to understand the kind of reputation a teammate wants to have. It showcases when someone might need development in delivering or receiving feedback. It also can be helpful in the type of coaching that a leader gives someone. 

4. What does it look like when you are doing your very best?

This question enable the leader to understand how their teammate works optimally. It is really more for the person being asked than the leader asking it. We don’t generally think about what it feels like when we are “firing on all cylinders”. This is a phenomenon called flow. It was coined/made known by a Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi one of the key figures in the Positive Psychology movement. As a leader, we have to understand what is the situations or circumstances that our team performs the best and work to make that a reality. As a person, its good for me to understand what flow is for me. 

5. How will you give me feedback on my performance? What do you expect of me?

Ah feedback. It is the lifeblood of any relationship and the thing that most of us are shit at doing. In order to have a hyper productive team creating an environment where feedback is given and taken is crucial. This question gives a leader insight into whether their teammate feel comfortable giving feedback (and therefore taking it). It will enable the leader to set the right tone with feedback and determine if their teammate will need to be coached on how the art and science of it. 

Are these the only questions you should be asking as a "People Leader"...no. Of course not. But, they are excellent inroads to understand the people you are privileged to lead as people. Try it, what could it hurt?

Anil Saxena is Culture Integration Leader for GE Digital (all views/opinions are his and his alone. That being said GE Digital is pretty awesome).                                                       

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