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Leadership and the 3 Degrees of "What If" Questions

Nov 12, 2019

“Can you imagine a life with no fear?  What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats?”

                                                                                                               - Max Lucado

Leadership during challenge is multi-faceted.  Leaders must first be adept at dealing with challenges in the present moment.  When problems arise, and they will, organizations look to those in leadership to help weather the storm. 

Additionally, leaders must understand the past.  They must have a keen understanding of what worked and what did not in previous events and be able to discern from that knowledge how to proceed in times of difficulty.

While adeptness in dealing with the past and the future is necessary for any strong leader, what is probably most important in leadership is to have a great understanding of the future vision of the organizations we lead and being able to effectively enroll others in that vision, all while keeping this vision safe from outside distractions when times are tough.

It has often been said that the quality of our lives (and organizations) is in direct proportion to the quality of questions we ask ourselves.  Ask quality questions and you get quality answers that help to propel you forward towards your intended vision.

For me, this is demonstrated most powerfully in the “What If” question.  The “What If” question has the capacity to solve the challenging problems we face, send us down the road of panic or despair or help us to create a vibrant new future.  Like most lessons in leadership, the choice is ours.

With this serving as our foundation,  I would like to share what I consider to be the “3 Stages of What If Questions” and how we can use them, or avoid them, in our lives to move ourselves and our organizations powerfully forward, even in the most challenging of times.

 

 

  • Constructive “What If” Questions – As leaders, it is our responsibility to guide the forward progression of our organizations. Part of this task is to be aware of potential obstacles to the organization’s vision and to have plans created and implemented to deal with these obstacles.  While focusing on the positive roll out of the organization’s vision is a paramount responsibility of the person in charge, great leaders must also be able to foresee obstacles that may lie ahead and be prepared to handle them head on in order to keep the organization moving forward.  This can present itself in many different ways. 

 

For example, the football coach may think to himself, “What if our opponent shows us this particular defensive alignment we haven’t seen before? How will we handle it? What audible to a new play will I have to coach my quarterback to make? How can I communicate these adjustments to be most effective with my team?

This isn’t negative thinking; it is simply being prepared for obstacles when they present themselves and very necessary and healthy aspect of leadership.

While the above example comes from the world of sports, it may come in business when a supply chain is interrupted, and a company already has a secondary option of acquiring product established.  It may come when an employee is out for a prolonged period of time and a team responsibility back up plan is already in place.  It may also occur when you have aging parents and you already have a plan for their care as they grow older.  Having “What If…Then This….” contingency plans created in advance can be extremely important to the effectiveness of a leaders in times of challenge and crucial in keeping the organization moving smoothly forward in times of difficulty.

While some may hope they are just lucky enough to get through challenges to the other side, great leaders believe it takes a different action to deal with times of challenge.  In a word, they prepare.  They do what I always remember my college football coach, the late Dennis Green telling us, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”

 

  • Catastrophic “What If” Questions – While being totally prepared in advance for when challenge hits would be the ultimate in leadership preparedness, it is definitely not always the case. There are certainly times when the challenges we face come out of nowhere and we need to create plans to deal with them as they are bearing down on us. 

It is here that I find that we can default to a “What If” question that are steeped in fear, panic and worry as we imagine in our minds the catastrophic events that are sure to come our way and negatively impact our organizations.

This can happen often in times of financial challenge in a business.  As a small business owner, myself for many years, I know that feeling of cash flow seeming to be blocked and the chain reaction of catastrophic “What If” questions flooding through my mind.  “What if money keeps pouring out of my account with no income? What if I go through all of my cash reserves? What if I end up losing my business? What if I need to let people go, what will the impact be on my family, my employees?  What if people in my community look down on my because my business has failed?  What it? What if? What if?”

I am here to say that in all of my years torturing myself with catastrophic “What If” questions, the events I feared taking place almost never happened.  Even if some of them did, things usually ended up just fine, if not better than before.

What I have come to realize is when challenge hits, it is a much more productive use of time to spend my energy on a third and more empowering “What If” question to get me through these times........................

 

  • Creative “What If” Questions – Powerful leaders understand that times of great challenge can also be times of great growth, expansion and opportunity. That is, if we choose to look at them from this perspective.

I realize that when we are in “the thick of things” seeing challenge as a great opportunity for growth is probably not top of mind.  However, when we are able to step back from challenging situation, allow our feelings of fear to be felt and pass through us, look at the event objectively, and then ask ourselves creative and empowering “What If” questions, we may be amazed at how these situations once thought to be tragic may actually be blessings in disguise.

For example, what if you asked yourself questions like ………..

  • “What if this situation is here to teach me a great lesson? What would it be?
  • “What if this challenge is here to help me totally revolutionize my business? What would it look like?”
  • “What if this challenge is here to tell me to let go of things that are no longer serving me or my organization? What positive changes could I make using this experience as a catalyst for innovation, expansion and growth?”
  • “What if I knew, regardless of the decision I make, I really couldn’t fail? What actions would I take?

This week, I challenge all of us to take the time to use the power of positive (constructive or creative) “What If” questions to guide us in both our professional and personal lives.  You may be surprised on all of the incredible power, creativity and enthusiasm you find within yourself, even in situations you have encountered time and again throughout your life.  You may find a new sense of energy and passion for your business, relationships and life you never knew existed.

What if that were possible?

 

Chris Natzke

Black Belt Leadership Speaking & Coaching

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