Some of Our Favorites

Here are a few of our favorite questions and the reasons why we like them.

“What about your job makes you jump out of bed in the morning?” This question conjures up an image immediately and gets your employee thinking about why he’s excited about going to work. It is an unexpected question about job satisfaction, and it typically elicits some fascinating responses, such as “The project I’m working on” or “Seeing my favorite client” or “Handling a tough problem” or “I love my colleagues.” You will learn more about your employee just by asking this question.

“What makes you hit the snooze button?” What a safe way to ask someone what she does not like as much about her job! Employees have answered this question in diverse and informative ways, such as “I’m just not an early-morning person.” Perhaps you could flex just a bit regarding her start time, or allow her to catch up on e-mails from home and then hit the freeway after rush hour. Another talented employee said he dreaded Monday morning staff meetings and delayed his trek to work for as long as possible. Could that staff meeting be shorter, better planned, or moved to another time?

“If you were to win the lottery and resign, what would you miss the most about your job?” Who doesn’t dream about winning the lottery? Yet most of us, truth be told, would miss something about our job if we were to leave. Many employees will answer, “I’d miss the people most.” Yet others stay on the job despite the people! Think how valuable it is to know who wants what.

“What do you want to learn this year?” He could answer, “Nothing. Nope, don’t want to learn anything this year.” (Hope you don’t have more than one of these folks on your team.) The question elicits fascinating responses that can help you gauge employees’ desire to learn, in general, and also can surface ideas for enriching their jobs.

“Does work give you back as much as it takes out of you?” Wow—now there’s a powerful question! What’s your answer to it? And what would we learn about you based on that answer?

Manager favorites

“If you had a magic wand, what would be the one thing you would change about this department/team/organization?”

“As your manager, what could I do a little more of or a little less of?”

“What can we do to support your career goals?”

“How important is your work to you? Why?”

“What makes for a great day?”

“Do you get enough recognition? How do you like to be recognized?”

“‘I love it!’ When was the last time you said this about your job? This morning? Last week? You can’t remember when?”

“What do you wish you had known before you took this job?”

“What has been a pleasant surprise?”

“If you had a friend coming to work here, what would you tell him?”

One manager asks, “What’s your favorite candy?” Then he has that candy on hand for times when he wants to show appreciation for a job well done. How’s that for an engagement tactic?