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"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."
Mark Twain

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Good afternoon, and I hope you’ve have a wonderful couple of weeks! While the summer is still in full swing, the sounds of September are clearly being heard.
Yesterday, I was visiting a friend and her daughter in the ICU and Childrens’ Hospital in Vancouver. As I was washing my hands before entering the daughter’s room, I noticed a monitor screen with an interesting image. It read “Good healthcare begins with good communication. Ask questions. Listen to the answers. Share any concerns that you have with the team.”
I was struck by how simple and profound the statements were. And wouldn’t every team be that much more successful, if we asked questions and listened to the answers! One of the challenges I think is endemic in business, in communities, in politics, in families is that we might ask questions, but we all too often answer the question ourselves with our own narrative and plot twists.
Sometime ago I was managing a small team. I had been around a bit, but was new to this team.  The folks reporting to me had some tenure in their jobs, but there were some questions about real competency for one of them; you know where someone knows 80% of the job,  but not the full 100%. On a couple of occasions, this person asked me a direct question about something in the 20%. My reply was met with a sigh and downcast eyes, because it meant they needed to do some more work; they clearly did not like my answer. A couple of days later, I’d observe that the task was not done, and that in fact it was still sitting on their desk. I approached and asked about it. They said, well, it was something that the previous supervisor had done, and that they felt that I was treating them unfairly, and that ‘everyone in the office agreed with them…’ You get the picture.
My colleague had asked a question, but clearly was not paying attention to my answer. They had their own narrative about things would progress, and how the workload would unfold. Does this sound familiar?
Now the key here is not simply that my answer is always correct, nor that you should only ask a question once, and if the answer is not satisfactory, for ever hold your peace. The key is found in the third statement above; “share any concerns with the team (or the parents in this case)” Don’t make stuff up. Successful communications is about asking questions, listening to the answers and carrying on the conversation if you don’t like the answer. You may still not like the answer, but perhaps you might understand the logic behind the answer.
May this week be one filled with real dialogue and conversation; questions, answers and exploration. And remember, don’t make stuff up.