The People - Question Matrix

The quality of anything we do, the degree of success and depth of failure we experience is largely determined by the quality of the questions we ask and the quality of the person or persons we ask those questions.

Einstein is totally correct about spending time formulating the right question so to be on the same frequency as the answer. Still, most of us are not as adept as Einstein at asking the right question.

Coming up with the right question is difficult enough. Finding the right person to ask that question is equally challenging.?

To whom the question is directed, finding that person to ask is equally challenging and even though you have the right question or close to having the right question, asking the wrong person can have devastating effects.

Learning to ask the right question of the right people is a leadership matter. To demonstrate this, I have created this People-Question Matrix to demonstrate the importance. Where you land in the matrix determines the degree of leadership success or magnitude of leadership failure.

The People - Question Matrix

Similar to Covey’s Activity Matrix or Eisenhower Box, I designed this People / Question Matrix to help visualize the important effect of questions and people on your ability to lead and grow in the knowledge and truth of your own leadership. Wherever you land in any of the four quadrants indicates the results / effect of the right or wrong question to the right or wrong person or persons.

Remember, asking yourself may be the right person to ask or the wrong person to ask as your ego will step in to protect you. This is especially important when determining the epistemology of your leadership. There are things about you your ego does not want you to know.

Even though you may land in the right box, where you land in the box represents the varying degrees of causes and effects. This is to underscore the essentiality of getting the question as close to the right question as possible and asking it of as close to the right people as possible.

Asking the wrong question of the wrong people:

Dead end. Brick wall. Nowhere. Stuck. Disaster, complete failure

Asking the wrong question of the right people:

Vague, Ambiguous, uncertainly, a murky ambivalence, confusion, delay

Asking the right question of the wrong people:

Cryptic, misdirection, fogginess, confusion, misinterpretation, incorrect expectation, disappointment

Asking the Right Question of the right people: Steady progression to your worthy ideal, baby steps, accountability, BOOM!

Who do you ask? Your own people? Your family? Which Consultant??

The answer is whoever is versed and skilled in telling you the truth regardless of whether or not you want to hear it.? I will hazard a guess that there is that person or persons that you avoid because that is what they do very well and you don’t like to hear what their answer.

Even if you receive wrong answers from the wrong people, take it in. Take it all in. Feedback is the breakfast of champions.