“So, let’s get back to the conversation part. How do you get people to talk about values in a way that is helpful?” Martin insisted.
“It is really very easy,” I said. “You simply ask them.
“I know you have tried this before and you got the lizard eye stare, but try the question differently, not about them, but about the environment around them. Often people cannot talk about themselves, but they easily see things around them. Here is how the question goes.
What do you value in a team member?
“When they respond to that question, they are really talking about themselves. Here are some more.”
What are the positive things your team members do to make this a better place to work?
Think about your best manager. What are the characteristics about that person that set him apart from other managers?
When you have a really tough problem to solve, what are the things that are really helpful to the process?
Martin was getting the picture. He excused himself from the room. He had some questions to ask his team members. –TF
Hi TF & Martin,
No doubt, it is the fact that asking question differently makes things better and also encourages your team members to put constructive things for better work environment. I am completely agreeing to TF, the way he has suggested the most important aspect of managerial problem. In fact, once a time I have been interviewing with one of the Hi-technology company where they were first matching the prospective employee value systems with their own corporate value systems. I found it very astonishing that moment, but, later I realized how important these things are to make work place happy. And seeing this blog and suggestion by TF it has been confirmed that this is really important.