Happy Halloween!
I went to the KCRW Halloween party in Los Angeles Saturday night. Super fun time and lots of great costumes!!
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Last week, I wrote about the power of observation and how this can be an amazing tool to use when attempting to resolve conflict.
One of the benefits of observation, and remaining neutral, is that it prevents you from giving other people advice.
Ironically, advice giving is something that many people hold in high regard. Often times, I’ll hear people proclaim that they’re really good at it.
On the flip side, I will also hear people proclaim that they’ll rely on their mentors when they want to receive good advice.
Both of these situations have great intentions behind them, because they’re examples of people wanting to help one another out.
When someone says to you, “what should I do?”, there’s probably a natural inclination for you to say, “If I were you, I would do this.”
However, when you REALLY think about it, giving someone advice is basically telling them how to live their life.
The truth is, you have no idea what’s best for someone else; only they know what’s best for them.
So, when the next person comes up to you and asks, “what should I do?”, I encourage you to consider asking a powerful question that forces this person to explore their own desires further.
A great response to that question would be to ask, “what would an ideal situation look like for you?”
By asking the other person what an ideal situation would look like, you’re:
- Encouraging this person to stop and reflect and therefore, shift from the mindset of “feeling stuck”.
- Empowering them as a leader to find their own answers from within themselves.
In this week’s video, I share some tips on how to ask powerful questions, what words to use when doing so, and how powerful questions can help you save time and get more done.
Thanks for reading. Have a great rest of your week.
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