‘7 Questions I’m really enjoying’ is an attention grabbing eye popping feast for the senses title, but seriously someone dear person at Medium at some point enabled using iOS again so I thought I’d start with a classic. I love metaphors and what they tell us about how we see the world and the state we’re in but this is about questions seven to be precise. Words have intrigued me for a lifetime and so as I work I’ve scribbled down some questions that I love, intrigue me and sometimes I use with others. Some are I think still gestating and others are classics.
1. How are you arriving?
This question is a great leveller for a check in to being a workshop with, I’ve tried many different questions but it is a classic that provides safety for a group to take it as far as they want to. As a facilitator I would set out the process for check in and then go first if the group or team is new to doing a check in and also if I would like people to go deeper or faster otherwise I would tend to go when I felt ready like everyone else, which for me personally is naturally is near the end.
2. Where is home?
This isn’t and not all questions are spoken, some we just hold in our heads. This someone gave a voice too during an informal chat on what we’re reading, listening and watching about race. Home being both a feeling of safety, belonging and often but not always connected to a place and/or person. When I’m near my parents even though I’m nearly 50 that feels like home where ever we are, when I’m working with my team that feels like home, when I see the patchwork landscape of our countryside or our ever changing coastline that feels like home and when I’m with my family in our house in my bed (all 5 of us including the 2 dogs) that feels like the top of the pyramid of home.
3. What is your privilege?
Over the years this is something I have thought more and more about. To understand it, to try and give it a voice and not left unspoken. I think my greatest privilege at the moment is I can say nothing and yet still be accepted and even more than that except not to be rejected and even more as it’s part of my roll in to be respected.
4. What does my lens stop me from seeing?
Perspective is gilled buy your outlook. Again this is a sort of self reflective question and it came out from a session I was helping facilitate recently. I know for myself that my first reaction is what about the people, and this can stop me from seeing impacts on organisations, finance and process. I love the notion that their is no one reality — I often think about that and about how often people think there is and the consequences of that.
5. How much control do I need?
Control and the desire of it is something that always creeps up on me without noticing, letting go again is very much a release. Not wanting it in the first place and giving up on the drug of release is an art that I’m still mastering.
6. What do we need to know today and not in 2 years?
I scribbled this one on the way home from day 1 of my recent Seriousplay Training and used it yesterday in our team retrospective. It is a hard question to answer and it can be quite ambiguous, but still lots of wonderful answers. I’m sure I’ll be using it again.
7. What problems would you come to me with to solve?
No but seriously what problems would you come to me to solve, do leave a comment. Also what a great frame for feedback. This one came from a friend, from their friend as is the way with the best of questions. What questions are you really enjoying?
