Uncovering Hidden Agendas: Why Not Ask These Questions?

Joe Wynne is a versatile Project Manager experienced in delivering medium-scope projects in large organizations that improve workforce performance and business processes. He has a proven track record of delivering effective, technology-savvy solutions in a variety of industries and a unique combination of strengths in both process management and workforce management.

 

Have you ever experienced one of those times when your sense of fair play was challenged? For example, did a co-worker keep secrets, work with a hidden agenda or simply manipulate a situation outright?

Besides being frustrating, this kind of behavior can destabilize your best efforts to promote high workforce performance. Hidden agendas interfere with trust between team members so that they will find it difficult--if not impossible--to commit time and expertise to a common objective. That leads to lower productivity overall, even higher turnover. Other project groups can then rationalize their own selfish interests and eventually any semblance of collaboration is lost.

Use Facilitative Questioning to Preempt Hidden Agendas

There is a way to head off this type of behavior on the fly by using "facilitative questioning," a way to constructively uncover hidden agendas and secret-keeping. This technique requires you to choose the right questions, phrase them correctly and deal with the answers objectively. You maintain your credibility as an even-handed leader while you aggressively protect the progress of the project.

Facilitative questioning allows you to deal effectively with those who, through omission, leave out critical information on potential problems. For instance, you might normally use this kind of statement at a meeting: "Let me …

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