SmartBrief on Leadership - Why asking "What?" beats asking "Why?"

In a world where moving fast and breaking things seems to be the norm, Chris O'Neill, the CEO of GrowthLoop, urges leaders to take a page from the sports playbook and call for frequent time-outs "to regroup, recalibrate and regain momentum." There are some natural time-out points, O'Neill writes, including before launching a major project, when circumstances call for a strategic pivot and when a pause can prevent burnout or a long-term setback.

Put it into practice: Build the power of pausing into your culture by taking time for reviews to make "halftime" adjustments to strategies and prioritizing deep, uninterrupted work to provide time for new insights to emerge, O'Neill writes. "It's not about doing more; it's about doing what matters most with absolute focus."

Asking your direct reports "Why?" questions about what they think or don't like can lead to evasiveness or justifications, writes Scott Eblin, who recommends using "What?" questions such as "What factors have most influenced your thinking?" or "What risks or unintended consequences do you see if we move forward with this approach?" "This subtle but powerful shift helps executives move conversations from resistance to resolution, ensuring discussions are strategic, action-oriented, and productive," Eblin writes.

Put it into practice: Help your team challenge assumptions by asking what blind spots might be clouding their thinking or uncover hidden concerns by asking what unintended consequences they may see in a decision, Eblin advises. "In your next leadership team meeting, pick just one of these questions and use it to uncover a perspective you hadn't fully considered. See what shifts."

Leaders can engage an audience by ditching jargon and using humor, stories and metaphors that are memorable and connect on an emotional level, writes Case Button, the VP of executive communications at Codeword. Button recommends using "Monroe's Motivated Sequence" for talks, which includes using an interesting story or joke to hook the audience quickly, then outlining the stakes of the situation, offering a solution and issuing a call to action.

Put it into practice: A memorable speech is usually a brief one that connects emotionally to an audience, writes Button. "With limited time, it's critical to use vibrant, specific language that moves people, gets them to nod in agreement, or even frustrates them!"

In rolling back its DEI programs and replacing them with an "accessibility and engagement group," BRIDGE Founder and CEO Sheryl Daija writes that it "has set itself up for an impossible challenge" to be innovative "while deliberately limiting the necessary diversity of perspectives in its workforce, leadership and supplier base." "The timing of these changes, coinciding with broader political shifts, suggests Meta is prioritizing short-term political positioning over long-term business health," Daija notes.

Two new studies reveal that whale songs share sophisticated similarities with human speech, challenging the uniqueness of human language. Researchers found that humpback whales exhibit communication efficiency akin to human languages, adhering to linguistic laws such as Menzerath's and Zipf's laws, according to findings published in Science Advances and Science.

A new report from Kearney reveals that 94% of chief financial officers are integrating sustainability into broader financial decisions. Additionally, despite current economic pressures, 92% of CFOs plan to increase their investments in sustainability this year -- indicating a strong belief in the long-term profitability of green initiatives.

As someone who has done a lot of public speaking (weekly, when I was leading a spiritual community), I can attest that Case Button's advice on how to be more human in front of an audience is valuable.

I have discovered, even in writing this daily column, that what gets people's attention are stories. When I tell a story from my life and hook it to the day's leadership advice, I get emails from readers sharing similar stories. We connect through our shared experiences. This is the kind of material you should be using in your speeches and presentations.

Stories also humanize us. This is key for leaders, especially. Sometimes, our teams don't know us very well or only interact with us on a limited basis. When you share something personal about yourself, you invite them to see you in a new light -- as someone who also struggles or triumphs, depending on the day and the situation.

Be sure to tie your key message to that humanizing element and add a call to action with it, Button advises. You'll motivate your team to act, and they'll remember your words as they do.

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