Ask Questions Instead of Giving Direct Orders.
“He always gave suggestions, not orders. Owen D. Young never said, for example, “Do this or do that,” or “Don’t do this or don’t do that.” He would say, “You might consider this,” or “Do you think that would work?” Frequently he would say, after he had dictated a letter, “What do you think of this?” In looking over a letter of one of his assistants, he would say, “Maybe if we were to phrase it this way it would be better.” He always gave people the opportunity to do things themselves; he never told his assistants to do things; he let them do them, let them learn from their mistakes.” (p. 254)
“A technique like that makes it easy for a person to correct errors. A technique like that saves a person’s pride and gives him or her a feeling of importance. It encourages cooperation instead of rebellion.” (p. 254)
Examples:
Someone had parked and illegally blocked an entrance to a shop.
Someone said, “Move that car and move it right now, or I’ll wrap a chain around it and drag it out of there.” Even though the person was wrong, he will feel resentful.
“If he had asked in a friendly way, “Whose car is in the driveway?” and then suggested that if it were moved, other cars could get in and out, the student would have gladly moved it and neither he nor his classmates would have been upset and resentful. (p. 255)
A manager accepted a large order which he knew could not be completed on time. Instead of demanding his workers to work harder and faster, he explained the situation to his workers and asked, “Is there anything we can do to handle this order?” “Can anyone think of different ways to process it through the shop that will make it possible to take the order?” “Is there any way to adjust our hours or personnel assignments that would help?” (p. 256)