Get Unstuck

If you ask most team members if they enjoyed their staff or other business meetings, most of the answers would be a resounding no. Changing the focus and trajectory of staff meetings can be transformative. An easy button for positive change is to ask your team members what they are stuck on, claims Ron Friedman, author of The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace. That simple question changes meeting dynamics from the droning of status reports to a collaborative forum for creative problem solving.

Posing the question of “What are you stuck on,” prior to a meeting forces team members to prepare for the meeting by reflecting on goals they want to achieve and impediments that are preventing them from doing so. Freidman claims the question places an arrow through the heart of procrastination because it requires someone to obtain guidance on how to move forward. “By inviting team members to pinpoint and publicly share an obstacle, leaders snuff out procrastination before it takes hold,” Friedman writes.

What you are stuck on also changes the narrative from why are you not succeeding to how can others in the organization help get a goal to the finish line. That’s why asking the question promotes collaboration because it taps into the expertise of other team members that may not be aware of the problem or may not be in daily contact with the person who is challenged by the problem.

Every member of a team is stuck on something and if they are not, it means either they are not being challenged or not being honest. The stuck question provides insight that enables leaders to assist team members to grow both professionally and personally.