What my 4 year old can teach us all in business.
Those of you with children know just how challenging they can be, and also how rewarding they can be. But can we learn from them?
Recently my soon to be 4 year old son Martin has developed a characteristic that is certainly making me think. He has developed a keen sense of questioning which to be honest was starting to drive me me crazy.
A simple car trip was becoming a mastermind session of questions and counter questioning. Daddy why are we going to town? To go to the “Tall Ships” exhibition. Why are we going to the Tall Ships?
To see the ships?
Why?
Because they are great fun to look at and we might be able to get on one of them and see it up close?
What’s up close?
We’ll get really near to them and see them
Why?
So you can enjoy them.
Why?
I think you get the drift. By the time the 30 minute journey was over I was exhausted and more than a little cranky!.
This is why I started to think about the value in this process. It is precisely because I was getting unnerved and uncomfortable that I wanted to stop the process. On the other hand this is precisely why Martin kept questioning me. I was not giving good enough answers, I was always leaving something out and he wasn’t happy with incomplete answers.
In business we have lost this ability to question deeply our perceived logic. We have developed a hierarchical system that says simply, I’m the boss and when your questions make me uncomfortable I’ll put an end to it, because I have the authority to do so.
How many meetings have you been to lately where people were made to feel uncomfortable because they were being exposed to a forensic approach to questioning them. I don’t mean personal attacks, I mean deep analysis of the decisions they had taken and the logic behind them.
How many senior executives and business owners allow genuine openness? Genuine scepticism and questioning?
How many of you immediately get defensive and dismiss any perceived criticism of the status quo?
It is hard I know but it is really important to have this openness. No it’s more than important it is critical. All too often decisions are taken by consensus with no dissenting voices, because participants feel that there is simply no point in challenging those around them.
How often do you see a new employee challenge and question everything in an organisation. For the first 6 months they will literally question with the curiosity of a 4 year old, and the answers are typically well this is how things are done here.
6 months later they either start to integrate in to the organisation mindset, and stop questioning or they will start to look elsewhere for a new challenge.
Don’t let this happen. See their curiosity as an incredible bonus. Be open to the probing. Take the hits on the chin as sometimes they will genuinely annoy/frustrate you.
You cannot put a euro value on this in the short term but believe me over the longer term the benefits and tangible value you will gain will be worth the effort.
Action – Take action today and start encouraging more questioning in your team and your organisation. A little conflict is no bad thing. It will stimulate meetings that’s for sure.
