Quick Question: What is holding us back?
Quick Question
Here is today's quick question for you...What is holding us back?
Ask it when you're...
Feeling like your project has stalled - when your team is deep in execution mode and feeling frustrated by a lack of progress, try bringing them together and asking everyone what they believe is getting in the way
Struggling to build a trusting relationship with a team member or business partner - it can be quite confronting to acknowledge that things aren’t working, but it’s an important first step, and it’s rarely a surprise to anyone involved
Curious about why customers aren’t engaging with your products/services - an open question like this gives your prospects the opportunity to share the gap between their pain points and your offering.
Listen for...
As a leader, it’s easy to default to defensive mode when asking this question - which isn’t helpful. Try not to take the answers personally. Focus on the role you can play in removing the blockages.
Try to listen for:
Opportunities to make or influence decisions that will clear the path to progress
The presence (or absence) of the core elements of trust - logic, empathy and authenticity
The way that customers are currently solving the problem you’re focused on - maybe they’ve already got something that works
Sometimes, you will hear consistent answers. Other times, you’ll hear a range of differing perspectives which is your queue to keep asking until a clear picture emerges.
Follow up with...
Sometimes, the greatest value comes from the one extra question you take the time to ask.
In this situation, you could try…
If I could remove <insert blockage>, what would that enable us to do?
What would you like to see happen next?
What is the most important problem for us to solve right now?
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