Length:
20 minutes
Imagine you were in one of the situations below. Reflect on what you might say.
Exercise 1
Try this when you are delegating a task to someone:
- Ask the person for any ideas they might have about how to do the task better; ask for suggestions.
- Ask the person if they have any concerns about doing the task and how they could be overcome.
- Ask at an early stage about how you might best plan the task together.
or
Exercise 2
Try this when you are consulting your boss about a task they have delegated to you:
- Ask for any ideas they might have about how you could do the task better; ask for suggestions.
- Ask if there is anything they know that would help you do the job better.
- Ask for feedback after you have completed it.
Practice makes perfect
Reflect on how you might appropriately build this consultative approach into your day to day interactions with people. Make a real effort to use these behaviours – appropriately, of course - over the next four weeks. Making a consistent conscious effort to change your behaviour is the best way of making it stick long term.