This might come as a surprise, but one of my favourite things about delivering a leadership keynote is the Q&A session I have afterwards. I love this part not only because it allows me to hear what key insights or ideas have taken hold with my audience, but also because sometimes the questions I get asked spur on new ideas I want to expand on and explore.
For example, my TED talk “Forget Passion – Purpose is the Real Spice of Life” was inspired by a question I was asked after one of my keynotes where one of the attendees wanted to learn more about my own leadership journey and what inspired me to take that particular path.
Recently, I delivered another in-person keynote and during the Q&A session I was asked yet another one of those thought-provoking questions whose answer was something I wanted to expand on and share.
The question was from a leader who’d been working on becoming more comfortable with asking questions and after hearing my keynote he had a question he wanted to ask me.
His question – “How do I encourage my employees to get better at asking questions, too?”
It’s such a great question that, just like my TED talk, I wanted to share the ideas it gave rise to with those who weren’t present to hear my answer to this leader’s question.
And so, in this edition of my Leadership Espresso Shot series, I share four simple steps any leader can implement towards creating an environment where employees feel psychologically safe to ask any question that’s on their mind.