More on Outcome Focus
Is this the most powerful question you can ever ask?
One of the best things a leader or a coach can do for somebody is to ask them:
“What do you want to have happen?”
This simple outcome-focussed question can do so much:
- It can raise someone’s head up and out of whatever problems they’re stuck in
- It can focus effort and attention in a really personal and energising way
- It can create unique moments of clarity and even stimulate big changes in direction.
You can use this when you want to address conditions in someone’s personal or professional life; when they’re working on a project and need to plan and progress it; and you can use it when you want to motivate and build on success, or even when things aren’t going well.
Sometimes you need to ask the same question, maybe in a slightly different way, several times in a row.
People can avoid answering it, they can be stuck in the problem, they can even be wedded to a possible solution (rather than being clear about what they actually want).
Keep asking until you get a clear outcome statement of some desired future state that doesn’t reference the problem itself or a solution. Then you know you’ve got to the heart of what they want.
And how about you?
Thinking about what you’re working on now, or about where you find yourself, what do you want to have happen?
And who around you needs you to ask them this kind of question? Who needs that clarity and powerful attention from you just now?
As usual, please leave me a comment if they’re still open below, or tweet me @NickRobCoach to let me know what you want to have happen or how you’re getting on at asking other people the same.
