Manila, 18 April 2024 — What made me sit up with excitement? 

“Good leaders ask great questions.” — John Maxwell 

Story

It happened last week. When participants in two leadership development programs started asking me great questions, I sat up with excitement. That is because, almost always, it marks the start (or acceleration) of a transformative process. And that’s what we are about at TransformationFirst.Asia.

In my experience, the best leadership questions come after participants have practiced showing up with effective leadership behaviors in their work and personal lives. And that’s also what happened last week. There is nothing like practicing and asking questions to open yourself up to leadership growth.

Here is a small sample of the questions they asked. What daily and weekly reflection practices will make me a better leader? How can we use generational differences at work as an advantage? How do I make myself seen as a leader to older people, and how can I lead them? And: how can leaders stay highly motivated and energized?

Challenge

At TransformationFirst.Asia our leadership coaching revolves around helping leaders to practice effective leadership behaviors. That’s the long and short of it. Why the focus on practice rather than more knowledge?

We have chosen the practice approach because our experience and modern research show that you will grow fastest as a leader when you take on challenges to practice. Providing more knowledge is only 10% of the formula. 

Moreover, we also discovered that practicing in collaboration with colleagues helps you grow even faster and with more fun, like the players in the photo. To illustrate this, we use a metaphor for growing leaders like Bamboo, the world’s fastest-growing plant.

Question

In contrast, most companies and organizations still expect miracles from sending you to a leadership development training course or workshop. We call that the Bananas approach. Sadly, the good feelings you experience in training don’t last.

It’s only when you start systematically practicing leadership behaviors with others in your workplace—and build strong habits for your daily and weekly routines—that you will see lasting results. Slowly at first. And then, as you persist, your growth will accelerate like Bamboo.

And that’s when great leadership questions will arise from your practice. You can experience this for yourself when you take one of our team or individual coaching programs or join our international Grow3Leaders community of practice.