Does your organization have a question-friendly culture? As a manager, you should encourage employees to come to you with their questions—and show you’re prepared to listen. Follow these tips to create a question-friendly workplace:
- Tell employees that questions are welcome. This may sound simplistic, but saying, “If you have any questions, I sincerely want to know,” goes a long way toward making workers feel comfortable approaching you.
- Respect the question. People tend to clam up if they’re made to feel their question is stupid. Acknowledge the validity of the question by saying something like, “I appreciate your question; let’s explore that for a moment…”
- Give your full attention. Don’t address someone’s question while you’re answering your email, reading a memo, or texting, and don’t take a phone call in the middle of the conversation. If you do, the person will think you don’t care or aren’t listening.
- Ask your own questions. If someone comes to you asking for a deadline extension, for instance, repeat what you think you hear. Ask specific questions like: “Why do you feel you can’t get this project done on time? What is the nature of the conflict?” This technique clarifies the issue in your mind and helps the other person think it through.
- Accept—and remind people—that you can’t solve every problem. It’s not your responsibility to do all the work yourself. It is your responsibility to engage employees or team members in a problem-solving dialogue. When people are aware of your boundaries, they will make more of an effort to help come up with their own solutions.
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