The Best Questions to Ask

In my post last week, I made the case that one of the most powerful strategies for advancing your career is to ask for genuine feedback. After it came out, I asked some of my favorite talent thought leaders what questions they like to ask… either to improve their performance or to help others... 

Thank you to all for sharing your insights:

Nishan DeSilva - Microsoft “What are three things that if I do will really upset you and might cause you to leave my team?”

Liam Brown- Elevate "If you could go back in time 10 years —knowing what you know about me today—what advice would you give the ten-year younger version of me?" This question gives the person I am asking the freedom to express difficult feedback to me by shifting time; they are not telling Liam today, but rather are hypothetically addressing a younger version of me. I am surprised by what people say.

Brian Meegan- Prosearch "I like all of my staff to understand their greatest strengths. If their particular strengths are commensurate with the skills required to succeed in their role in the company you have the right person in the right seat. They should also be aware of their weaknesses. Once identified you have to decide which ones will make the greatest impact on improving their performance and work on those. All the while reinforcing their strengths so they will repeat those great behaviors every day."

Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses creates a much more impactful interview when advancing your career. I meet with my team weekly for strategy and direction, and once a month for performance, development, and career planning.  

Jennifer Selig- Kirkland & Ellis “Tell me the good, what needs to improve, and 'the rest' (overall feedback). Please be as specific as you can be; examples help provide tangible next steps.” 

Nick Robertson - Relativity “What should I know about your role/team/business that would help me support you better?” The key is to not just ask how you can support someone better, but to ask for the ‘thing you should know’ that leads to it. I find that often ferrets out a datapoint or insight I didn’t have.

Marco Nosca - Lineal "Do you mind if we level-set? I know what my expectations were for ___________, but did I meet your expectations? If not, what were they and how can I ensure that we are always aligned moving forward"

Jose Paulo Graciotto- Law firms should do the same thing with their clients to improve their services!

Lauren Roso- Prosearch - I think there is a lot of value in asking for feedback around discrete examples and not just overall "how am I doing?". After a presentation or speaking event, you might ask, “What did I do well? What could I do to improve? How was my presence?" Asking for feedback around discrete examples keeps the conversation very focused on a tangible performance and also creates clear markers as you can then see how they apply that feedback in subsequent situations.   

Lisa Goucher- GPS “What is your biggest pain point or need?” As for staff career advice, I feel a successful office has communication daily that helps individual careers as well as the business. The tasks are important, but to successfully grow and win over customers, it is taking the time to provide the ins & outs—or personality of each customer—to staff. 

Joy Heath Rush  - ILTA Some favorite questions… “Do you know and have you made a list of the skills, habits, and attributes you need for your next job? What is your plan for obtaining those? What skills, habits, and attributes do you need to leave behind when you move to your next job?”