Sustaining the Journey Archive	Previous Page

May 3, 2010

Whose questions are they?

Vianca is a Cognitive Coach in Los Angeles. Like most schools in the U.S., she faces difficult cuts and is uncertain about the future. The challenges in her school are greater than many schools can fathom.

In coaching her recently, she named a profound insight that moved each of us in the room. She said, "The questions I ask are not mine." Stop and think about this statement. What does it say to you?

In our identity as mediators, we let go of our need to be in charge, direct the conversation, lead a person to where we want to go, and know what comes next. We suspend and move into the thinking of the person, embracing ambiguity. Another participant in Michigan, Shelley, offered, "Cognitive Coaching^SM creates peaceful conversations."

"The questions are not mine." Consider those words; how do we offer questions that our not ours? How do we offer questions that belong to another?

What questions are you asking that are yours? What questions might you ask those you serve that our not yours? How do you invite efficacy, craftsmanship, consciousness, flexibility and interdependence with your questions?