Is Change Your Destination? Drop 5 Question-Pins.

Lately, I’ve found myself challenging many current beliefs and educational practices that have been considered sufficient for many years. It can be scary to travel through the change process, but I discovered five landmarks to visit during the trip to Change. To ensure I spend time at all essential locations, I drop a question-pin for each of the five places on my conversation map. These questions help me navigate collaborative meetings with colleagues and leadership teams to ensure a safe arrival to our desired location. It’s pretty simple, yet incredibly powerful.

*The questions below were inspired by Asking the Right Questions Third Edition by Edie L. Holcomb.  

1.) Where are we right now?

• What is our picture of current reality?
• One might use data to determine the current status. (Ex: academic or perception survey data)

2.) Where are we going?

• What’s our goal? 

3.) How will we get there?

• Use the data above to brainstorm action steps and benchmarks to reach the goal.
• Delegate responsibilities and provide clear checkpoints for accomplishing the tasks. 

4.) How will we know we “arrived”?

• How might you describe how the “end-result” looks, sounds, and feels?
• Spell this out in detail and visualize a clear picture of the vision in action. 

5.) How will we sustain focus and momentum?

• To continue forward momentum, when we arrive at question number five, I find myself back at question number one. “Where are we NOW?” At this point, the cycle continues. If we are always growing and moving forward, I can’t imagine ever truly “staying” at any given place for too long.

By dropping these five question-pins on my conversation map, I have successfully traveled through monumental milestones to arrive at our destination–Change. It’s fairly straightforward yet profound. *I have also found this process helpful when setting personal and professional goals. 

Please share your thoughts and experiences when navigating conversations around change.

Click the image for a full-size infographic: Destination Change? 5 Landmark Questions to Visit.