I recently attended a transformative conference — Wisdom 2.0 conference — and one of my main takeaways was about the importance of being present–not distracted–when you’re with people who are important to you. “Disconnect to Connect” was the motto and the entire conference was buzzing with ideas to bring more human connection into our lives.
If you’re a business leader (or really any working adult), chances are you spend more of your waking hours with coworkers than with your own family. And knowing how important relationships are to your happiness, I’d like to encourage you to spend a little less time hyper-attached to technology or your to-do list and a little more time building deeper connections with people that matter to you–at home and at work.
Starting a morning meeting with one revealing question costs literally nothing, but can return dividends by way of building better relationships and trust at work.
So, put down your cell phone. Pick a question from below. Ask it. See what happens.
1. What would you be doing if you weren’t at your current job?
2. What more are you wanting in your career right now?
3. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are living right now?
4. Describe your biggest failure in business.
5. What is one word you would use to describe yourself as a child?
6. How do you recharge?
7. If you were to tell one person “Thank You” for helping me become the person I am today, who would it be and what did they do?
8. What one thing about you do you want in your elegy?
9. What movie or novel character do you most identify with?
10. When are you the happiest?
11. Fill in the blank: If you really knew me, you’d know_____.
12. What quality in you would you hate to see emulated in your employees or children?
13. If you were to start a company from scratch, what values would you build it on?
14. What would you most regret not having done by the end of your life?
15. What characteristic do you most admire in others?
16. What kind of impact do you believe you have on people?
17. What one memory do you most treasure?
18. If you could change one thing about how you were raised as a child, what would it be?
19. What super power would you like to have?
20. What would a “perfect” day look like for you?
21. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in the last year?
22. How do you think your coworkers see you?
23. If you ruled the world, what would you change on Day 1?
24. How do you act when you’re stressed out?
25. What are you most afraid of and what’s it stopping you from doing?
And if you do begin to courageously ask these questions at work, we’d love to know how it goes! Email us a [email protected]
