“I got this.”
This was my go-to line when I knew what I was doing and wanted to get my boss off my back. What I couldn’t see was how it highlighted a major mistake. I wasn’t evaluating the situation, I wasn’t asking questions. I assumed I knew all the answers, and I was usually wrong.
I didn’t realize the error in my ways until a major client rollout flopped and I had no one to blame but myself — my own stubborn belief that “I got this,” even though I clearly didn’t.
In a debrief with my boss, he said, “Aaron, when you say 'I got this' and have no concerns about a situation, that is when I get concerned.”
What he meant was that as soon as I stop asking compelling questions, I assume I know what’s going to work and stop evaluating potential outcomes and solutions. It’s a tendency we all have when we want to take the quick route. It’s what holds us back from being powerful leaders.
Why is asking powerful questions an essential leadership habit?
It provides leaders with a means to mitigate their confirmation biases and dive deep into the evaluation of a situation, a person or their team as a whole.
I had biases for how the rollout was going to play out. I’d done this before; I knew what was going to happen, so why should I look further into it? I wish I could say this was unique to me, but we all do this. Our brains are wired to jump to outcomes, to look for shortcuts.
Not sure if this relates to you? Watch this quick video to test yourself.
Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist who was the first to highlight these biases, states, “Confirmation bias comes from when you have an interpretation, and you adopt it, and then, top down, you force everything to fit that interpretation.”
This bias can be disastrous for leaders; it can hinder their decision making ability and blindside them completely. Asking powerful questions is our way around it. It can help us avoid this common miscalculation.
What does a powerful question look like?
I’m going to share a definition of and the criteria for a powerful question, but I also want to be clear there is no script for asking a powerful question. Powerful questions evoke clarity, create greater possibility, reveal new learning and generate action. Here are a few ways to determine if a question is powerful or not.
A powerful question …
• Is open-ended: Ask what, when or how instead of asking a yes or no question.
• Comes from a beginner’s mindset: Start by telling yourself, “I don’t know the answer.”
• Is clear and succinct: Keep it simple, don’t use too many words.
• Is impactful: It’s important to remember that not every question in a conversation should be powerful. In a 30-minute conversation, aim for 2-3 powerful questions.
• Happens in the moment: Here is probably the most crucial point to remember about powerful questioning. You can’t plan it! Formulaic questions outlined before the conversation won’t work. You have to be in the moment.
There is no script for asking powerful questions. There is, however, an often-overlooked trait that will set you up to ask powerful questions in any situation.
What’s the trait?
Curiosity. Want to discover a master of curiosity? Find any 3-year old and watch them for an hour. They ask what, why and how to nearly everything they see in the world around them. They want to know more and do not limit themselves to the societal expectations of what’s right or wrong. They just ask.
As we get older, we are trained to lose our curiosity when it becomes clear it’s not acceptable to ask all the questions that come to mind. Instead, we go about our days having surface-level conversations, rarely digging more in-depth with a co-worker, client or even a friend.
The secret to asking more powerful questions is digging deeper. It’s triggering our 3-year old selves and reconnecting with our curiosity.
I found it hard to come up with a way to share this concept with you. I realized it’s so hard to explain because, as adults, there are very few situations where we are curious. Then I remembered riddles. They are a great way to bring the curiosity right back. Try this one out.
“What has a head, a tail, is brown and has no legs?”
As you are practicing this, trying to figure out the answer, your mind is swirling with questions and possibilities.
What kind of animal has no legs?
Is it an animal?
What else could it be?
What sorts of things have tails?
The series of questions running through your head is your curiosity showing up. It’s the little kid inside of you wanting to understand, to know. Curiosity is the genuine desire to learn more -- to explore.
To be able to evaluate people, teams or situations with greater fidelity, go back to the curious part of you that wants to explore. Instead of restricting yourself, open yourself up and allow your mind to ask any question.
Allow yourself to ask the powerful questions. You already have them in you.
Sometimes it may take priming yourself with a riddle to get you there.
“What has a head, a tail, is brown and has no legs?”
A penny.
Imagine you approached someone you admired, and boldly asked that person to mentor you. And the answer was “Yes!” But a year into the relationship, those monthly mentoring sessions might not invigorate you like they used to, and aren’t quite as energizing for the mentor, either.
4 Types Of Questions To Ask A Mentor
1. Stories
To break the ice, have your mentor tell a story from his or her own career. Hey, everybody likes to talk about themselves! For example, you could inquire: “How did you get to where you are today?” or “How did you land your current role?” But you could also ask more specific questions that address your career objectives and concerns. Some questions to consider:
• Was there a time you messed up and felt like you’d failed? How did you bounce back?
• How did you learn to embrace risk-taking?
• Tell me about a recent business setback. How did you recover?
• Think back to five years ago. Did you envision your career as it is today?
• Was there ever a role you applied for and landed, but weren't 100% qualified to do? How did you proceed?
• What do you wish you had known before taking your first management role?
• Which leadership skills were the most difficult to develop?
• Can you tell me about a time when you had a difficult boss? How did you handle the situation?
• What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned and how has it proven invaluable?
• How did you develop the skill of speaking so engagingly in front of groups?
2. Situations
Now that the conversation is flowing, get more granular in your requests and bring a specific situation to your mentor--one that you’d like help navigating. For example:
• I tried to delegate a task last week and it did not go well. Can we work through what to do differently next time?
• Who are the people I need to align with in this organization to achieve success?
• My boss said I need to be more strategic. What does that mean?
• How can I let my boss know that I don’t need to be micromanaged?
• How can I stay connected to key influencers who do not work in same office or geographical area?
• When trying to gain buy-in to implement a new program, what tactics have worked for you?
• My performance review is coming up. What type of preparation do you most appreciate seeing from your employees?
• I have two very different career path options available to me. Can you weigh in to help me make a final decision?
• I'm considering a career transition. What are some other areas of the business that might be a good fit for me?
• I’ve heard that taking a stretch assignment could help my career trajectory. What are the pros and cons?
3. Self-Awareness
One of the greatest gifts you can deliver yourself is the gift of self-awareness, meaning the ability to see yourself as others view you. That way, if you like how you’re perceived, you can embrace it and take steps to strengthen that positive perception. If you don’t like how you are currently perceived, you can take steps to shift that perception to a more positive one that supports, rather than undermines, your career and leadership goals.
After starting with the obvious question: “How do you think others perceive me?” become more specific, so your mentor can assist by “holding up the mirror” and providing detailed feedback on how your actions and communication are impacting the way others see you. Ask questions such as:
• How am I viewed? In other words, what's my personal brand in our organization?
• Where do you see my strengths?
• What do you see as some of my blind spots and how can I improve?
• How I am viewed by leadership?
• What do people say about me when I’m not in the room?
• Could you offer feedback on ways to Strengthen my executive presence?
• Do I come across as strategic or tactical in my day-to-day communication?
• Am I viewed as high-maintenance when I send my boss weekly status updates?
• How could I have communicated my idea more clearly?
• When I presented at the last meeting, how did I do? Did my communication style support the message I intended to deliver?
4. Skill-Building
Is there a skill you’re currently working to enhance, such as project management, long-term strategic planning, delegating, or public speaking? Use questions like these to ask your mentor for advice and resources to help you polish that skill:
• How can I become a more assertive negotiator?
• Can we role-play asking for a raise and a promotion?
• How can I become better at managing people who do not report to me?
• Do you have any quick tips for re-energizing an overworked team?
• Can you recommend a book or resource for dealing with difficult conversations?
• What practices can you recommend for dealing with nervousness when speaking to groups?
• I have been asked to facilitate a team-building activity at a staff retreat. What are some keys to success?
• What’s a good methodology or tool for project management and tracking team commitments?
• Do you have a template that you use for long-range visioning and strategic planning?
• What new skills do I need to move ahead?
With these four types of questions and their accompanying examples, you’ll never sit through another mentoring conversation wondering if the other person is finding the discussion useful. And deliver this list to those whom you mentor, encouraging them to use it to maximize the value of the time you spend together.
Before you commit to a financial planner, you want to make sure you’re hiring the best person for you and your situation. Start by asking yourself a key question, then check out the 10 questions you should ask an advisor before hiring one.\
1. I just need to get started investing for my financial goals: A robo-advisor may be the best fit if you're just starting out or only need investment management. For a low fee, these computer-based services choose and manage an investment portfolio for you. Some also offer access to financial advisors if you have questions about your investments or your goals. Robo-advisors often have low or no account minimums, so it's easy to get started.
2. I want personalized financial advice but don't need to meet my advisor in person. There are many services that offer online financial planning for less than you'd pay a traditional in-personal financial advisor or financial consultant. These companies provide complete investment management and holistic financial planning; the major difference is that you'll meet your advisor virtually — by phone or video chat — rather than in a local office. Most services pair you with a dedicated advisor or certified financial planner; some less-expensive options offer access to a team of advisors.
3. I want a local advisor or a wider array of financial advice: On the other hand, if you want in-person financial planning or have a more complex situation, you may decide a traditional financial advisor near you is the right choice.
Track your finances all in one place.
Find ways to save more by tracking your income and net worth on NerdWallet.
If you think exploring a relationship with a traditional financial advisor is the right move, be sure to ask these 10 questions during the interview process.
A fiduciary works in the best interest of the client and only recommends investments that are the best fit. Nonfiduciaries, such as broker-dealers, need only to recommend products that are “suitable” — even if they're not the lowest-cost or most ideal for you.
Advisors can use a variety of fee structures. To keep it simple and avoid conflicts of interest, consider focusing on fee-only advisors. They don’t get commissions for selling products.
"Make sure it’s fee-only — those particular words," says Alice Finn, founder of PowerHouse Assets and author of "Smart Women Love Money," a guide to investing. (Some of the questions here are from her book.)
Fee-only advisors might charge a percentage of the assets they manage for you (1% is common), a flat fee for services, or an hourly fee. If cost is a concern, you may want to go with a low-fee robo-advisor, or an online planning service like those mentioned above.
In addition to paying the advisor, you’ll face other fees — and you'll want to know what they are. Fees can reduce your savings over time. "You can lose half your net worth without even knowing it," Finn says. "You want to be vigilant."
Financial professionals can have a confusing list of initials behind their names. And whether a finance professional goes by "investment advisor" or has a certified financial planner designation, it's your job to vet them. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's professional designations database will tell you what they mean; if there are any education requirements; if anyone accredits the designation; whether there's a published list of disciplinary actions; and if you can check professional status.
You can also use a Form ADV to check an advisor's record.
Put another way: How much access will you have to the advisor? You want to know how often you’ll meet and whether they're available for phone calls or emails outside of scheduled appointments. (Learn more about what financial advisors do and what you can expect from the relationship.)
It’s important to know whether you have the same investment management philosophy. Here’s why: “You have to believe in what they’re doing to stick with it,” Finn says. “When financial advisors really do their job is when the market is down and they can convince you to stick to the same page,” she says, so you don’t sell at the bottom of a market cycle.
It's also important to make sure you and your advisor align on investment style. For example, if impact investing is important to you, you may want to ask whether your advisor will be able to help you create a portfolio that aligns with your values.
Also ask: Who are your typical clients? Find an advisor who is used to a situation like yours, and is able to help you meet your goals.
You’ve heard how important it is to be diversified, right? Your asset allocation is how you create a diversified portfolio.
“It drives most of your returns,” Finn says.
“You don’t want someone who is just going to pick U.S. large-company stocks,” she says.
She says your portfolio should include domestic and international stocks, and small-, mid- and large-cap companies.
Advisors should use benchmarks that directly relate to what they’re invested in, or be able to explain why they don’t.
Some managers will use a “straw-man benchmark,” Finn says. For example, the advisor says: “My goal is to beat the Standard & Poor's 500.” But if that advisor is investing in a diversified portfolio beyond simply large-cap U.S. companies, that benchmark is a mismatch.
“Over time, they should beat the S&P 500, because they’re taking on more risk,” Finn says.
Ideally, your financial advisor has hired an independent custodian, such as a brokerage, to hold your investments, rather than act as their own custodian. That provides an important safety check.
“If I send my clients performance information … and it tells them how much I say is in their account, they can go online any minute and double-check,” Finn says.
This helps ensure the advisor has your tax bill in mind when making financial decisions. And asking about taxes and fees is a way to explore what your estimated net return might be.
“What you want to know is: What do you get to keep after fees and after taxes?” Finn says.
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Grab a partner — friend, lover or stranger — and get ready to get intimate.
With this app, drawn from a study discussed in The New York Times and designed in consultation with the study's first author, you and a partner can test if mutual vulnerability brings you closer together.
Before you begin, you or your partner should read the following instructions aloud:
For inspiration, read Mandy Len Catron's Modern Love essay, “To Fall In Love With Anyone, Do This,” the study by Arthur Aron, Edward Melinat, Elaine N. Aron, Robert Darrin Vallone and Renee J. Bator, originally published in the Personality and Social Psychology Journal (PDF) and a blog post on how the study came to be.
The Reading Specialist Certification program at Drexel University’s School of Education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania aims to prepare graduate students to work with individuals with a range of reading abilities and needs by introducing them to multisensory approaches to reading instruction, and to a variety of diagnostic tools for planning and evaluation purposes, as well as to monitor student performance and growth. Students enrolled in the online Reading Specialist Certification program will learn effective reading strategies, and become exceptionally skilled and qualified to support students with reading needs and provide literacy leadership and coaching to teachers and schools.
Drexel's practicing Specialist Certification program is a 31-credit program that can be completed in about 15 months. In addition to completing the 8 core courses that meet PA Department of Education’s requirements for professional competencies for practicing specialists in training, the program also requires 5 core courses from the Wilson practicing System® program, providing our students with in-depth knowledge of language structure, multisensory, and diagnostic instructional techniques for 2nd through 12 grade students and adults who need more intensive support in practicing or have language-based disabilities.
For PA practicing Specialist certification, students must complete the PA Praxis test practicing Specialist (Test Code #5301/0301) with passing score of 164. Graduates of the Reading Specialist Certificate program who have passed the appropriate Praxis exam and received the PA Reading Specialist add-on state certification will have the opportunity to become reading specialists, reading interventionists, literacy coaches, literacy mentors, literacy program directors, reading teachers, and literacy specialists working in a community-based literacy center.
To be admitted to the practicing Specialist program, students must possess an Instructional I certificate in PA or another state. The online Reading Specialist program aims to help graduate students:
Students will graduate with a Reading Specialist Certification, as well as a WILSON® Level I certificate. The WILSON® Level I certificate will allow students:
Drexel University is one of a few select universities to offer WILSON® Level I courses as a part of the core requirements. Students will receive a Level I certificate from WILSON® in addition to a Pennsylvania Reading Specialist Certification.
The practicing Specialist certification program is offered 100% online. You can get started by filling out the Drexel Online application.
