Leading through Asking with Nancy McGaw

Questions need silence. Great questions are provocative. Great questions defy easy answers. Answering them takes time - they can be the work of a lifetime or a workshop. A great question can guide an organization, a Design Sprint or an educational program. Great Facilitators ask great questions - on purpose.

In this episode I sit down with the effortlessly scintillating Nancy McGaw, Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program (Aspen BSP). Nancy also leads corporate programs designed to cultivate leaders and achieve Aspen BSP's mission of aligning business with the long-term health of society.

In 2009 she founded (and still directs) the First Movers Fellowship Program, an innovation lab for exceptional business professionals who have demonstrated an ability and passion for imagining new products, services, and management practices that achieve profitable business growth and lasting, positive social impacts.

I would suggest you listen to this episode at 1X speed if for no other reason than it's good to slow down sometimes - it's a point that Nancy makes early on in our conversation.

Nancy and I meditate on the power of questions: Asking instead of telling lights people up and will surprise you, the asker, if you design your questions with care.

Nancy shares three of her favorite questions.

Tell me about a time when you were working at your best…?
What would have to be true…?
Why do you do the work you do?

Starting with Stories

The first question shows the power of Starting with stories. Any user experience researchers or Design Thinkers listening will know this to be true - if you're talking to a customer or a client, the best way to get rich and detailed information is to ask a "tell me about a time when…" question. Stories light up our brains in ways facts cannot, and starting our gatherings with a story is a luxurious and powerful way to generate energy and connectedness.

Appreciative Inquiry

This first question also connects to one of the most important ideas in this episode - even though it's mentioned only briefly: Asking with focus on the positive and the functional over the negative and dysfunctional. Appreciative Inquiry is a rich body of work and a unique approach to change.

The Art of Possibility

Nancy's second question is an excellent act of conversational Judo. Asking "What would have to be true…" can transform conflict into collaboration...or at least, honest inquiry. Asking this question can allow skeptics to dream a little and open the door into possibility.

That question came out of another question, from Michael Robertson, who attended the recent cohort of my 12 week Innovation Leadership Accelerator. He wanted to know if an "us vs them" mentality is ever appropriate when trying to lead deeply important change. Nancy's answer is profoundly empathetic. As a side note, the next cohort of the ILA is in February - we're accepting applications through January. If you want to dive more deeply into your own personal leadership, head over to ILAprogram.com to learn more and apply.

Why over what

I love the idea of asking people "Why do you do what you do?" without even knowing what they do. This question also points to understanding people's history, which is one of the key components to change - how did we get to now? What was the arc of the story?

Nancy has added some amazing books to my reading list - check out the show notes for links to them all and enjoy the episode!

Nancy at the Aspen Institute

Business and Society Program

First Movers Fellowship Program

Edgar Schein's Humble Inquiry

The Four Quadrants of Conversational Leadership

Appreciative Inquiry

John McPhee's Draft No. 4

The Four Truths of Storytelling

Carmine Gallo's Storytelling Secrets

Rosamund and Ben Zander's Art of Possibility

Leading change with and without a Burning Platform