The Critical Follow Up to the 4 W's
Add this question to your toolbox
Last week, I wrote about the 4 W’s of setting expectations. Hopefully you were able to take that information and add clarity to your team’s work. I purposefully left out the follow-up question in that post because I wanted to discuss it in further detail.
Immediately after providing the 4 W’s, here is the question you should be asking (referred to as the Great Manager Follow Up):
“What questions do you have for me?”
Not some version of that question - that exact question.
Why is this Wording So Important?
Most of you are already asking the follow up question naturally. You are asking something like “any questions?” or “got it?”. Those are the questions that you were probably asked from a manager and you continue the habit.
It is wrong. It is the difference between a bad/average manager and a great manager.
The problem is quite simple: your question is phrased with the assumption that everything is understood. If your employee asks a question or needs clarification, they feel like they are dumb or at least not as smart as you. Human nature makes most of us default to “no questions” because we don’t want to be seen as incapable.
You want questions from the employee. You want the employee to feel comfortable asking questions. The best way to do this is using the Great Manager Follow Up. The phrasing is done to make the employee feel like a question is not only acceptable, but expected. Their comfort level goes up because asking a question is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.
Responding After the Great Manager Follow Up
Obviously, the first thing to do is to answer the question. If they ask about format or a parameter of the expectation, answer it to the best of your ability.
If you don’t know the answer or don’t have any specific preference, clearly tell the employee exactly that. Asking a question does not have to mean taking away autonomy.
Praise the question - say something like “good question” or “glad you thought of that”. This slight encouragement will act as a positive reinforcement of the behavior.
Stay present until all questions are asked. Some managers have a tendency to stop the discussion after one question or be ready to move on after setting the expectation. Asking and answering questions may take a few minutes, so be prepared to stay until the employee is out of questions.
Make a note (mental or otherwise) of the questions asked. This is something that you should consider adding the next time you set an expectation. If the employee is always asking about format, make that part of your What to anticipate the question. Every question the employee asks is a clue to where you can improve on the clarity of expectations.
Conclusion
Start to implement the use of this exact question when you set the expectation. You can use it in other instances as well - it has broad, universal applications.
You will see growth in your team and better deliverables with this one simple change.