5 Years From Now, What Advice Would You Give Yourself Today?

Last month I asked colleagues, and readers of this blog, to submit their ideas for “The Top 20 Frequently Asked Questions About Board Service.”

Bob Andringa weighed in with seven meaty questions including, “What evidence should we collect to know we are achieving our mission?”  Fantastic question!

Well…Steve Brown wins the award for the most questions!  He’s the author of the 28-page booklet, Great Questions for Leading Well. He wasn’t content with 20—he has over 200 questions!  (Read my review of the booklet.) Provocative questions like:

   • “What role is fear playing in your thinking and actions right now?”
   • “What are the costs of not delegating more?”
   • “What’s the highest and best use of your time?”
   • And from John 5:6, “Do you want to get well?”

The questions are not specifically designed for board members—but they are amazingly applicable when wearing your governance hat and/or seeking to support, encourage and bless your CEO. For example, have you ever asked your CEO these questions?

   • “If you had a dashboard gauge for your spiritual life, character, relationships and service—what would each gauge read? (Green for health, yellow for concern, or red for trouble?)

   • “If it were 5, 10, or 25 years from now, what advice would you give yourself today?”

   • “Does your budget/time demonstrate your values?”

Brown quotes Peter Drucker: “The leader of the past was a person who told, the leader of the future will be a person who asks.”

Think back over the best board meetings you’ve ever attended.  My hunch: powerful and poignant questions helped create an atmosphere of seeking God’s direction, caring for one another, and like Andringa’s question, discerning what evidence should be collected to affirm mission achievement.

QUESTION: What will you do at your next board meeting to invite questions that could be the fulcrum for effectiveness?