Leadership Counseling

Question:

How can I carefully listen to and discover a person's problems, outcomes and values?

Definition:

Leadership counseling is a form of listening that focuses on another person's problems, objectives and values. This is different than offering solutions to problems. It is not psychotherapy, which deals with deeply personal issues for making personal changes. Effective leadership counseling helps a person describe a real problem and be thoroughly understood. Then the person being counseled shares positive desired outcomes and values.

• Ask about the problem with empathy and concern
  - Please tell me about the problem. What happened?
• Ask how the problem affects the person personally
  - How is that a problem? What will happen if it continues?
• Switch to the positive
  -What would you rather have instead?
• Ask what the person wants - their outcomes
  -What do you want? What is your desired outcome?
• Explore the underlying values of the outcome
  -What will your outcome do for you? What is most important to you?

(From here, to plan further, solve problems and negotiate solutions, go to the Negotiating and Mediating model.)

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