Racing to the finish line

Articulation of a problem

For my final learning journal, I will be reflecting on the problem I experienced this week which was not asking enough questions.

Analysis of that problem

I have found that when you work on a project for an extended period of time, asking too many questions can sometimes obscure your initial thoughts. However, not asking enough questions can lead to making decisions that are not completely calculated. This week, I was beginning to feel more comfortable with our previous decisions and didn’t probe enough about our new decisions. This level of comfort came with drawbacks, such as not having enough consideration into marketing decisions, such as deciding to increase our branding by 25%, as I would normally.

Formulation and testing of a tentative theory to explain the problem

Brooks and John (2018) discuss the four types of questions; introductory, mirror, full-switch and follow up. In my past experiences with groups, I have found an open dialogue that involves using all of these types of questions which in turn has improved performance. However, I noticed this week I was reluctant to ask full-switch questions, which are those that change the subject as well as follow-up questions. This is probably due to my level of comfort at this time in the semester and our group’s steady progress.

Action/deciding whether to act

As next week is our final rollover, I have reflected on what I did and did not do this week. As per my problem of not asking enough questions, I wrote on my CV that I am an extrovert. In most cases, I have no problem leading conversations as I am quite talkative. With that being said, next week the pressure to perform in two simultaneous rollovers will push me to ask questions. Simple things such as preparing or writing questions down will help me with this action. Questions I should think about asking should be open-ended such as “What changes need to be made this week?” or “What if I increased branding by x?” can help facilitate open discussions amongst the group and be an effective way to start a conversation with the team.

Brooks, A. W., & John, L. K. (2018). The surprising power of questions. Harvard Business Review, 96(Issue 3, p60-67. 8p. 2 Color Photographs), 60–67. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=129192448&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Daudelin, M. W. (1996). Learning from experience through reflection. Organizational Dynamics, 24(3), 36--48. I