Ask 6 questions to identify the problem

Begin every conversation geared toward problem-solving by identifying the problem and how it might be solved.

Six questions should guide your actions:

1. Is X important?
2. If so, how well should we be doing with X?
3. How well are we doing with it?
4. If we’re not doing at least as well as we should, how can we improve?
5. What’s stopping us?
6. How do we remove, blast through or tunnel under any obstacles stopping us from improving X?

— Adapted from Cage-Busting Leadership, Frederick M. Hess, Harvard Education Press.