14 September 2007

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Educational Snapshot from SeminarsWorld^®
Use the Magic Question to Get the Meeting Back on Track

If you are a project manager, you have probably experienced what SeminarsWorld leader Dick Cochran calls “The Meeting”. Some new problem arises and the team starts to moan, groan and complain. Morale sinks. Your attempt to get everyone back on the agenda isn’t working. What do you do?

Use the magic question. Interrupt the complaints and say: “Wait a minute. What is it that we are unable to do, that if we could do it, would resolve this issue?” Amazingly, the group will shift its focus and start to identify what it is unable to do. You are back on track to find a productive solution.

This simple, yet powerful, question works. Here’s why and how best to use it.

Three-Stage Process to Resolve the Issue

We can’t avoid life’s unexpected issues, so we need to become efficient at dealing with them. Many of us experience the same three-stage process when we address an issue.

Stage 1: We vent about it. We blame “they”, “them” or “it out there”. Sometimes we blame ourselves: “What was I thinking?”

It is okay to vent. It is a normal part of the problem-solving process that releases stress and frustration. The difficulty comes when we get stuck venting. When we are venting, we are not problem solving. So the quicker we can move to the second stage, the better.

Stage 2: Eventually we realize that venting is not fixing the issue, so we move to personalizing it. In this stage we take personal responsibility for action. We look at causes, options and possibilities.

The personalizing stage is the problem-solving stage, where we determine what we can and should do to resolve the issue.

Just identifying the solution is not enough. How many times do we know what to do but don’t take action? We need to move to the third stage, action planning.

Stage 3: Action planning is essential for results. In this stage we identify the 4W’s: the who, what, when and where required to attain our desired solution. And then we take action.

The Magic Question Moves People from Venting to Personalizing

The magic question is specifically designed to shift people from the venting stage to the personalizing stage.

A key characteristic of the question is that it prevents defensive reactions. By focusing on inability — what are we are unable to do — we are kept from blaming or accusing anyone of wrong behavior.

For that reason, use the question just as it is written. Do not edit or ad lib. You may have to ask it more than once if people are not finished venting or if they are stuck in what we call victim behavior. You’ll learn more about this strategy in the SeminarsWorld session.

Try using this magic question with your team. The upside potential is less stress and more productivity.

So ask yourself …“What is it that I am unable to do, that if I could do it, would get me started using the magic question?”

Find out more. Two other applications of the magic question are taught in the SeminarsWorld session Secret Communications Skills They Never Taught You in School That Make Project Teams Really Deliver Results. Attend this session at PMI SeminarsWorld in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on 12-13 October.

This article was contributed by Dick Cochran, MBA, BSEE. Mr. Cochran is president of COMStar, which helps high-tech organizations to improve the effectiveness of project managers and project teams. He is also a PMI SeminarsWorld leader and a member of the PMI Mile-Hi Chapter. Mr. Cochran describes himself as a “recovering” electrical engineer and an enlightened people person. He has taught people skills to technology professionals since 1995.

Mr. Cochran invites your questions or comments.