Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 7 Powerful Tools for Life and Work [Anglais] [Broché]

"Questioning" is a skill rarely taught in school, but doing it well - that is, asking the right questions of the right people - can radically transform attitudes, actions, and results. Change Your Questions, Change Your Life provides easy-to-learn tools that can make a significant and immediate difference in people's business and personal lives. Written as an engaging fable, it inspires readers to take charge of their thinking in order to accomplish goals, improve relationships, advance careers, investigate new territories, and in general gain greater life satisfaction. This book explains how to "be your own coach," outlines the author's QuestionThinking Model, and lists the top 12 questions for change. Real-world examples provide practical models for applying the principles in a variety of situations, while a Choice Map is a useful visual tool that demonstrates that everyone has a choice in every situation, even if it is not immediately apparent.

Marilee G. Adams, Ph.D. is co-founder and President of The Center for Inquiring Leadership, a consultancy and knowledge center for leadership, team, and organizational effectiveness.

Dr. Adams’ professional career spans over twenty-five years including individual and organizational consulting and training and private psychotherapy practice and seminars to individuals, groups, couples, and families. She is the originator of QuestionThinking, an inquiry and self-management methodology for transforming thinking, action, and results through intentional and skillful question asking.

Dr. Adams’ QuestionThinking tools and teachings have unique appeal to leaders in both Fortune 500 companies and the Federal Government, from Lockheed Martin and Johnson & Johnson, to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and NASA.

Through her writing, speaking, and consulting, she has reached thousands of individuals, families, executives, and teams. Her presentations on the art of QuestionThinking and Inquiring Leadership have been applauded by educational bodies such as the Organizational Development Network, the Society for Human Resource Managers, the American Society of Training and Development, The Wharton School of Business, and numerous corporations and non-profits.

Marilee’s first book, The Art of the Question: A Guide to Short-Term Question-Centered Therapy (John Wiley & Sons, 1998), is in its sixth printing.

Dr. Adams earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Fielding Institute in Santa Barbara, CA and her Masters’ Degree in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University, with an emphasis on group systems. She has extensive advanced training in Gestalt therapy, family therapy, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. She did coaching training at the Institute for Life Coach Training, where she is now a faculty member, and she guest lectures at Columbia University Teachers College and the Adler School of Coaching.

Introduction

Have you ever had an experience that you look back upon and say, ‘before this moment my life was one way, after it another?’ Just such a moment in my own life became the seed for this book and what I now call QuestionThinking. Now, over twenty years later, I still look back at that time with gratitude. By now the work it inspired has impacted not only my life but that of many others. Let me share with you the story of that life-altering moment.

I can recall it as if it were yesterday. I was on the phone with my Ph.D. advisor, waiting for feedback on some work I felt great about. Holding my breath, I waited for Hallock’s praise. Instead, I heard him say, "Marilee, this is just not acceptable."

My stomach did a somersault. Did I hear him right? In those days, critical comments like my advisor’s often left me in tears. For years I had worked to silence my inner critic and become more accepting of myself. While I’d made some progress, I hadn’t seen great evidence that my efforts had been fruitful. But at this moment, something occurred that felt like a miracle.

Instead of the old tearful reaction, I became calm and curious. With ease, I responded to my advisor, "Okay, how do I fix it?"

An observer part of me watched all this and asked incredulously, Was that me? What had happened? How was I able to switch my mood so easily? Resolving to figure it out, I also wondered: Could this seeming miracle be turned into a method to pass along to others?

I discovered that what had happened was a fundamental change in the kinds of questions I usually asked myself. The old me asked mostly worried questions, such as, "Does he like and approve of me?" and "What did I do wrong?" The new me had started operating out of calm, productive questions like, "How can I make this work? What can I learn?" and "What’s possible?" By changing the kinds of questions I asked, I changed my life.

Until we develop the ability to cause the kind of change I experienced, we are at the mercy of other people’s opinions and the whims of our own moods. The ability to intentionally shift our internal questions puts us in charge of our own thoughts. This book shows you how to do that.

Change Your Question, Change Your Life is the story of Ben Knight. He finds himself challenged, seemingly beyond his limits, in his new promotion to a highly responsible management position. Convinced he doesn’t have what it takes, he drafts his resignation. That’s when his CEO steps in and gives him a second chance by introducing him to Joseph Edwards, the inquiring coach. However, Ben’s job isn’t his only problem. His marriage is also in trouble. In the pages ahead you’ll follow Ben through the transformations he makes, both at work and at home.