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.
