Page 75 - Make Work Great

Clarity Within Relationships

Define Your Question

DECIDE IN ADVANCE WHAT MUST BE DISCUSSED

• Consider which of the six types of overtness generated the question
or concern you need answered.

• Use the samples in this section for reference as you articulate your
question as specifically as possible.

• Which of my interpersonal or conceptual skills are strong?
• How do the skills I already have relate to the skills I need?

In this case, you’re asking what knowledge you contribute to the net-
work. You could easily ask these questions of a manager, a mentor,
and a customer, and you’d receive very different answers. Perhaps
your boss would say that you most need to have “infl uencing skills,”
but the customer would advise you to focus on your “technical prob-
lem-solving” abilities.
As you can see from all of these examples, having a set of well-
defi ned questions is critical when you’re seeking clarity. Write them

down if you can. Definition of questions is the first step. Stay fl exible!

You may uncover a direct answer quickly, you may slowly develop a
solution, or you may learn something along the way that causes you
to redefine entirely what you’re seeking. No matter how things turn

out, by keeping an eye on what you’re looking for, you improve your
chances of fi nding it.

2. Define Your Approach
On the surface, it seems that once you have your questions defi ned,
you’re done. “I know what I need to know,” you may be saying. “Now
it’s time to go fi nd out.” If you have this impulse to seek answers from
the crystalline network around you, congratulations, it’s a good one.
But before you head off armed with your questions, you need to con-

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