What else?

I watched three job candidates in the hot seat earlier this week as we held the final round of interviews for our associate director of parent engagement.

The seat was hot because the final interview was with our superintendent.

And, because our superintendent’s office had no air con running at the time. Strategic move ??

As I watched our superintendent (with a background in law) meticulously cross examine the candidates, I noticed him use one question consistently to force candidates to dig deeper for something beyond the practiced answers sitting on the surface.

What else?

Over and over, a candidate would finish a well prepared, polished response and he would say, “what else?”

The message was clear—I know there’s more beyond the polished response and I want to know you, a more real version of you. It was incredible to watch candidates' mannerisms, tone, and use of buzzwords shift as they searched for something more.??

I felt like I spent several hours watching a masterclass in interviewing.

It was as much the question itself as it was the delivery—an invitation, not a directive. It conveyed a belief that each candidate possessed something beyond the surface, something that was worth exploring more deeply.?

I’ve sat on panels where you feel like you’re trying to cover a set number of questions in a limited amount of time. This felt more like a therapy session meant to help you discover there is more to you than even you realized. `

There was a study published in the early 2000s that cited, “what else?” as two critical words that consistently improve physician/patient communication. Often, many doctors begin to diagnose their patients after the first symptom is shared. But the best doctors approach each situation like an archaeologist uncovering important clues piece by piece. They dig deep and then search for any piece of related information that might help them make the right connections.

It’s not just the person asking the question who learns more. I noticed each of the candidates processing their previous experiences differently as they searched for new connections and deeper meaning. The person being asked this question is forced to process their own experiences more intentionally which can often lead them somewhere new.

This works even if you’re alone.

Usually before we head into a school holiday, I’ll draft a list of things to do on the first day back. This is the perfect question to ask when you’re building out a list like this.?

What else?

What else?

What else?

Give yourself several rounds of this and your list will always end up bigger than it began.

Try it out this week. Use these two words to help you learn more as you interact with others or as a tool to make sure you’ve gotten everything you need out of your own reflection.