Posts Tagged ‘experts’

More questions than answers

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

Recently I have been spending time online on LinkedIn, since I discovered that it had a Questions section (though it is perversely called “Answers”.)  I was very interested and impressed by the contributions, so I found myself being drawn into the ‘game’.  However. the aspect that has struck me is the difference in what happens when you ask a question as opposed to answer one.  Come up with a clever answer and maybe you’ll maybe get an accolade for “Best Answer” or a reply from the questioner.  However, ask a stimulating question and you may get 20-30 people all talking to, and engaging with, you. 

In my work as a coach and facilitator I often note that the thing that clients gain most value from is my questions.  This is strange when you consider that we live in a culture that so values ‘the expert’*.  The media is full of ‘experts’ pronouncing, and displaying their erudition, like little bantam cocks, and yet, when it comes to our lives and our businesses, who knows more about it that you do?  If you want to help someone, rather than telling them what to do, try asking a question rather than offering an opinion and see what happens.  Really good managers have know this for years, but it feels that this style of leadership is seldom represented in movies or books in praise of leaders.

I’d love to gather some examples of good questions and the impact they that they have had on you, or equally valid, the effect your good questions have had on others.

* Definitions of expert:

  • Someone who knows one thing more than you do
  • The word “expert” is formed from the conjunction of two roots which phonetically can be represented as “x” and “spurt”. Everyone knows that “X” is an unknown quantity.  A “spurt” is what one gets from squeezing a drop of water. Therefore, an expert is an unknown drip under pressure.
  • ex means “has been” .. or once was or past … pert means “lively, sprightly, in good health .. bold, forward .. skilled” … so that an expert is one who has lost the innate intelligence of their childhood.

 

“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”   Naguib Mahfouz

“To be on a quest is nothing more or less than to become an asker of questions.”  Sam Leak

 

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Posted in Business Change, General, Hints, Tips & Techniques, Leadership | 5 Comments »

“I don’t know”… Time to listen to your inner expert?

Friday, September 18th, 2009

The other night I was lying there, half awake, half asleep, having one of those drifting conversations with myself, and the answer to every question seemed to be “I don’t know..”  I wasn’t totally surprised but it didn’t leave me feeling very good about myself.  After all I’m meant to be something of an expert, people pay me to know things! 

The other day I was working with a client and we had a difficult session scheduled, we had to design a key meeting with very little time to do so.  Then our meeting was cancelled and and it all had to be done over the phone.  There was very little time for rework, and rabbits definitely needed to be pulled out of hats.  However, I still had the legacy of my late night conversation lingering in my head. 

We began our call, and he was talking away, and suddenly he said something.  It was almost as if it was spoken in a bold, oversized font.  Suddenly, it all fell into place and I knew exactly what needed doing.  This experience didn’t particularly surprise me but none-the-less it was still a powerful one.  I’m always impressed when I meet people who are able to trot out facts, figures and specifics; my brain doesn’t work that way.  However, it does seem to conjure ideas out of the ether when they are needed.  The rest of the time it seems rather vacant…

These days we are all used to experts & pundits being produced by TV and radio, telling us what has happened and what to do.  I think perhaps we need to be reminded that we can all tap into a rather high wisdom if only we take the time to listen.  I’m sure you have had this kind of experience too and would love to hear about them.  What do you think, is it time to listen to your inner expert?

“Experts often possess more data than judgment.”   Colin Powell

“Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken.”   Bertrand Russell

 

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Posted in Business Change, General, Personal Change | No Comments »

Your brain really does switch off when given ‘expert’ advice!

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Professor Berns has discovered that our brains literally can be seen ‘switching off’ when offered expert financial advice.  He monitored 24 volunteers using fMRI technology whilst asking them a  series of questions spanning the range from gambling to guaranteed payouts. 

“During some parts of the game the subjects had to make decisions on their own, while in other parts they were advised by an expert economist.

The subjects tended to take the advice, even though it was not always likely to lead to the highest possible earnings. Their brains also showed different patterns of activity when advice was available and when it was not.When participants had to make choices by themselves, they showed high activity in brain areas such as the anterior cingulate cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which are involved in active decision-making and probability calculation.”

It is another example of Flight / Fight behaviour.  Emory University have observed that when confronted by money related ‘stuff’, we have two main responses, boredom and fear, in other words, flight / fight!

I would imagine that this our response to expert advice which  spans a much wider area than just the financial.  If it is important and we don’t really understand it, then we are likely to turn to an expert, and we then find ourselves in this position of being apt to surrender our power to them.

Be careful who you pick.  Do remain critical.  Despite all indications to he contrary, you are the expert on your life.

.. of course, as this is ‘expert advice’ you should retain your personal right to ignore it!! 😉 

“An expert is someone who knows a lot about the past.”   Tom Hopkins

“Expert: Someone who brings confusion to simplicity”   Gregory Nunn

Resources:

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Posted in Flight / Fight, General, Hints, Tips & Techniques, Personal Change | 5 Comments »