Bursting with questions!
June 1, 2022
Hi friend,
It’s been a while!
I’m intending to reach out more regularly—maybe once or twice a month—to share tools and techniques I’ve found helpful in hopes that you'll find them helpful, too.
Today's tool is something I just learned yesterday, and I’m already amazed by its impact! It’s called a Question Burst, and it’s very simple.
The steps are:
Identify your most difficult challenge.
Set a timer for 2 minutes and generate as many questions as you can about that challenge. No answered allowed. Only questions. Try to come up with at least 10.
That’s it! We went through this exercise in a webinar with 1,800 people in attendance, and 80% percent of participants reported feeling better afterwards (including me)! After only 2 minutes! You can follow your Question Burst with an Action Burst if you wish—brainstorming strategies and identifying next steps for addressing your call-to-action questions—but simply generating the questions is a powerful way to reframe struggles and break through limiting beliefs. You can also use Question Bursts in teams to build a sense of psychological safety while problem solving.
I hope you'll let me know how it goes if you give Question Bursts a try.
That's all for now. Wishing you a joyful June!
Warmly,
Elizabeth
PS: I learned about Question Bursts in a webinar led by Hal Gregersen and Amy Edmondson. It was part of the WBECS Summit, a set of 40+ free presentations by thought leaders in the field of leadership. Although the target audience is coaches, the content is great for anyone who wants to learn and grow. The Summit started yesterday and runs for another couple of weeks, so there’s still time to join if you’re interested. I highly recommend checking it out!
PPS: The photo above captures the single bearded iris that mustered the energy to shoot up a spike and bloom in my front yard this year. It’s reminding me that one—whether one step, one person, one kindness—is often enough.