I Don't Have the Answers. I Have the Questions.

Pile of white question marks

When it comes to being a leader, there are two things we often forget. 1) Leaders (in any role or function) ask the questions that inspire our critical thinking, creativity, discovery, and learning. Good leaders see more in us, not less, than we see in ourselves. 2) The second thing we forget about leaders is that they roll up their sleeves to help us when we need it. They may rely upon us to figure out a solution and execute it, but they support and encourage us along the way.

Humility is key to both leadership lessons and what we often feel is lost. It is humility which allows for both questioning and lending a helping hand—experienced as the confidence that real humility exudes. The fruits of these humble labors are trust in who you are and hope through what you do. That’s a pretty good payday for eight hours of work! And if you string a bunch of these days together, you’ll turn a pretty good profit, too. This is what I love about the human side of change. As difficult as it is to master, the return on every attempt to set a better example results in an exponential reward. Try it and see!

I learned these lessons the hard way on my transformational adventure—getting to burnout trying to have all the answers before I finally took off and shredded my “Wonder Woman” cape. Asking questions and helping others then became a distinguishing feature of my ongoing transformation adventures. Woohoo! Oh, the things we can now do!