Gregory D. Githens, PMP, NPDP Tallahassee PMI Chapter Monday 4 June 2007 Leading with Questions How Leaders Find the Right Solutions by Knowing What to Ask “Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.” George Washington “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”. Source Unknown Use of these materials is restricted All of these materials have a Catalyst Management Consulting copyright, unless otherwise noted. They are intended solely for the education of participants in the Management Roundtable pre-conference workshop. These materials may not be reproduced, reused, or provided to any other party without the permission of Catalyst Management Consulting. Gregory D. Githens, PMP, NPDP Catalyst Management Consulting gdg@CatalystPM.com +1.419.424.1164

Why is this* an important TOPIC? * Ask Better Questions to Lead and Influence

Important Messages “Judgers” focus on answers and expertise – “Learners” actively seek knowledge (A.S.K.) Leaders/learners are curious, tolerant of ambiguity, mindful of the future, and creative Conceptual agility trumps subject matter expertise The project manager is not the smartest person on the project – they are the one with the best questions! Fast-to-learn is fast-to-deliver Define requirements in terms of the user’s wants and needs, not the product’s capabilities Search for passion and pain: they are motivators

Why are people often reluctant to ask questions?

“I have no particular talent. I am merely inquisitive.”

Underneath this Shroud…. is the solution. What problem(s) do you want it to solve?

Be curious, but not too smart Be conversational Listen, and expect to be changed

How (and when) You Ask a Question is Often as Important As What you Ask

Probe for Metrics Often sparks “the perfect question” Often provides an “aha!” leap of clarity about an essential need, characteristic, or priority Encourages discussion about client’s criteria for project success and failure Which encourages collaboration and creativity Encourages more precise thinking and description When you can measure something you have a better way of describing it

Why Have Metrics?  People get confused when presented with too much information  You need to understanding something to manage it  You need to be able to describe something to understand it  Valid measures create confidence in the description Notes: Another reason for metrics clutter is that there are some people who would rather look at an unimportant particle and measure it precisely, than imprecisely measure an important indicator.

What Makes a Good Metric? Measures something important Has relevance to its audience Measures something that is directly controllable and resistant to gaming Incents the organization in the proper direction Is a member of a very small, lean family of measures Notes:

and clarify what is important to success) Good Strategy Good Metrics (provide focus) SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE Good Inquiry (ask better questions and clarify what is important to success) Good Strategy (an aligned set of actions on the right things) Notes: Metrics create a focus that stimulates important questions and effective strategies.

Four Driver Questions for Radical Innovation Projects First, establish “why” this project is important Second, establish “who” needs to be involved Third, establish “what” exactly is to be done Fourth, determine “when” it will be done

Questions Help You Find the Pain “Who has the pain?” “Besides yourself, who else is experiencing this frustration?” “Did one incident start this, or has this been building up over time?”

Improve Your Questions! Discovery questions open up the possibilities to create value What unmet desires do people have? What gaps exist? What new opportunities can be identified? Confirmation questions serve as a check against goals Is this a good idea? What attributes and benefits should I include in this release? Have I conceived of the product in the right way? Evaluation questions help to assess improvement Is the product OK the way it is? Do I need to make modifications to the product? You might ask discovery questions if you need new product ideas, or fresh thinking to solve intractable problems. You might ask confirmation questions to see if current product features are still valued by the customer. You might ask evaluation questions to assess the importance of performance requirements, or to evaluate a prototype.

What are YOU going to do differently? Take a moment to reflect on what you’ve learned in this presentation, and how it applies to your job and organization. What are your key learnings from this session? What is your personal action plan? I welcome your questions and feedback Greg Githens, PMP®, NPDP gdg@CatalystPM.com 419-424-1164 www.CatalystPM.com Greg Githens gdg@catalystpm.com 419-424-1164 www.CatalystPM.com