Ask the Right Question!
Another lesson I teach to new leaders is the art of asking the right question. Having spent the bulk of my career in technical support and IT operations, I have learned to be very fond of this concept. It is an art, really, and not enough leaders are artists, in my experience.
Consider this story that recently happened in my office.
A leading technical expert in our office approached me with a riddle. Perhaps you've heard it and you know the answer. Not me. This was a new one. And since solving riddles is very analogous to solving problems and succeeding in technical support, we agreed it was relevant to our environment.
The riddle went something like this:
Imagine you are walking through the forest and you happen upon a cabin. You look through the window and see two dead people. How did they die? You may ask only Yes or No questions. You will get only Yes or No answers.
I provided the answer after just a two questions. Success!
Next, we agreed to invite individuals from my team into my office. We subjected them to the riddle and not one single team member got the answer. Suddenly, the smell of my own failure permeated the room. I've not done my job well if my own team doesn't know how to ask the right questions.
I even gave them pre-riddle guidance, such as remembering principles of great customer service.
Understand now that technical support engineers are really Customer Satisfaction Engineers. (If you are associated with technical support and you don't know this, embrace the concept or find a new career. You'll be much happier.) While customers care about the solution, they really care about the journey getting to that resolution point.
What are these mystical principles of great customer support? Empathy is a good one. Quick, accurate responses, is another. Fast resolution time. These count, as just a few examples. But if you really want to impress a customer, start by restating their problem in your own, different words. This immediately puts you on the customer's team, even if your restatement indicates that you didn't understand the real problem. (Let's face it, sometimes the customer doesn't even present the correct problem to begin with. Thus, this principle is beyond valuable.)
Now if we go back to the riddle and ask the right questions, leading to a problem restatement, review the details you have:
- You are walking through a forest.
- You happen upon a cabin.
- The cabin has a window.
- Inside the cabin are two dead people.
First consider what is relevant. Does it matter if you are walking in the forest? Perhaps. Does it matter there are two dead people in the cabin? Maybe so. I mean, the riddle is about how they died. Note that every person to whom I presented this riddle went first to the people element. Every one of them.
This is why asking the right question is so important. In this example, if you allow yourself to be distracted by the prima facie of the question, two dead people, it seems your chances of answering the riddle are greatly diminished.
People asked, questions like, "Is there blood visible?" Or, "Is there an appearance of violence?" Almost everyone asked something along these lines. Some questions were morbid and won't be repeated here. I was shocked that everybody went this direction.
Me? I started with this question to build my problem re-statement: As I walk through the forest, do I happen upon a log cabin? You see, I want details. And the answer?
No.
Well now I know this is not the typical definition of a cabin when walking through the forest. But there can be many different styles of cabins in a forest. I need to know which path to follow. My next question: "Would you characterize the cabin as being out of place in the forest?"
Yes.
Now I know the cabin doesn't belong here. If it is not a cabin one might find in a forest, what else could it be? Cabin is not necessarily cabin. I quickly considered other types of cabins.
I then took a chance and answered, "The people died in a plane crash."
As the fun was sucked out of my expert's sail, he responded, "Yes."
Problem solved. Two questions asked and I could restate the problem: Two people died when their plane crashed in the forest. Without prior knowledge of the riddle, I've not witnessed anyone get the answer that fast. Indeed, one of my team members felt like this had nothing to do with his job after about five minutes of asking useless questions. I think he didn't have any coffee that day.
To me, there are several elements to asking the right question. The question should eliminate other possibilities as quickly as possible. It "drills down" into the problem. It's answers present some kind of measure against the problem. The question must seek to bring about action. Great questions bring clarity and avoid the cloudy and vague. They serve to bring us closer to better understanding. And with better understanding, we will find solutions to problems.
I continue to use this riddle as I coach people into leadership, and now even in technical support. I tell my children that life is about solving problems. Problems themselves are not bad, but the consequences of not solving problems may be terrible. Make sure you ask the right questions if you wish to clear problems from your path forward.
As you move through your day, every day, try observing the questions you hear, those you ask, and those asked of you. Consider how they could be improved and sharpened into a tool. Watch how this changes the way you approach every task.
Ask the right question, and you will solve problems faster.