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2 Simple Yet Revealing Questions for Your Staff Members

Trish (my Sweetness) and I belong to what we call a “Gourmet Dinner Group” that meets on a rotating basis once every couple of months.  Five couples gather and solve the problems of the world; discuss politics; now that we are getting older, talk about our aches and pains; and most importantly laugh a lot.  Last week the “men” were gathered around appetizers discussing one of the challenges facing Bill, our high school teacher working in a tough district.  Bill was explaining that for his parent/teacher conferences a high percentage of the parents fail to show up to learn about their children’s progress.  All of us found this to be so sad and disappointing as it reflected not only on the parents but the potential future for these young people in the future work force.

As the discussion continued, Ken our Psychologist in the group explained that when his parents went to the parent/teacher conference (they never missed a one) his father was prepared to ask the teacher only two questions.  Ken knew his Dad had better hear the affirmative and he better not be receiving a “U” in conduct.  As you can imagine, all of us were waiting for Ken to tell us the two questions.  He said they are SIMPLE yet profound.  Here is what his father asked the teacher:

1. Is Ken behaving?
2. Is Ken doing his work?

Wow we all gasped almost in unison.  They were simple and yet incredibly profound.  Then Dan, the Dean of a noted local college spouts out…”hey, those sound like two great questions to ask in a performance review with your employees.”  Dan’s and Ken’s epiphany prompted this post.  Our Nuclear Engineer, Ron (not to be confused with Coach Ron) even agreed as he trains people in ISO 9000 quality assurance.

We all concluded, what would it be like if in your reviews and growth conferences with your employees if you ask these two questions?  What impact might it have on total performance?  How would it open discussion for personal growth and improvement?  What would it mean to enhancing team morale; team productivity; having fun while serving others.

So here you go………

1. Are your employees behaving? 
2. Are your employees doing their work?

Don’t white-wash this with “I don’t want to upset anyone or hurt their feelings”.  You need to be frank and objective.  Then one more set of questions:

1. Are YOU behaving?
2. Are YOU doing your work?

What do you think of this simple, yet profound approach?

Dr. Ron is the only Master Certified Dental Coach (MCC) on the planet. He has blended 20 years of clinical dental practice with executive roles in financial planning and investment management along his graduate business training to provide his clients with the tools, support, and accountability to accomplish more. About Dr. Ron, "I count you as one of life’s best finds", says Dr. Gary Imm of Reisterstown, Maryland. He has authored many articles; manuals; ThinBooks ^tm; TeleClasses and if you visit http://www.drarndt.com you can receive one of his FREE reports, "9 Painful Mistakes Dentists Make in the Hiring Process"

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One Response to “2 Simple Yet Revealing Questions for Your Staff Members”

1. Dan English Says:
   March 1st, 2008 at 9:57 am

   Hi Ron,

   You really did an excellent job of writing the above “Two Simple But Revealing Questions . . .” I especially liked how you added the part about us (the managers) behaving and doing our work. We ALL need to look at what we are doing OR not doing that is contributing to the operation environment, productivity, and bottom line revenue/profits.

   I most enjoyed talking with YOU at our last dinner event.

   Dan

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