1 - 10
© Pete Longworth
If you’ve been keeping up with my posts, you know that I recently began working with a new coach. He’s a CEO I admire greatly, and he has generously offered to help me grow in the areas holding me back from reaching my potential as a leader.
On a recent coaching call, he asked me a question that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. We were talking about the goals my team has set for this quarter, and as we went through each one, he asked: “How confident are you that the team will hit this goal, 1-10? 10 means you have full confidence that you’ll accomplish it, 1 means you are sure you won’t.”
For most, my answer was 10. For one, my answer was 7. That’s the one he immediately zeroed in on. He followed up with, “What steps can you take today to turn that 7 into a 10?”
In a few moments, a very complex challenge became quite simple. I identified a few action items—things I knew that needed to be done but that I had been putting off. I moved quickly on them. Some were actions I could take, and some were actions I empowered my team to take. And now we are on track to achieving the goal.
This 1-10 question is simple, and it’s powerful. It’s powerful because it can make something very subjective—your gut feeling—more objective. “I think we have a 7 in 10 chance of hitting it” sounds a lot different than “I feel like we have a pretty good chance of hitting it.” Attaching a number is a more concrete way of assessing how you feel, and more importantly, it shows you the areas you need to focus on the most. That way, you won’t waste time on a 10 when you really need to look at the 7.
The magic of this question is that it’s not just for assessing your confidence about reaching your goals. I used it in a meeting last week with two members of my team who are taking on new, big roles. As it usually happens when you’re in uncharted territory, both are struggling with fully embracing and owning their “lanes” in the company. I asked each of them, “How much ownership do you feel in your role right now, 1-10?” One answered 3.5, the other answered 4.5. Then I asked what number they hope to be at by the end of the year and what steps they could take to get there. The exercise helped them put their feelings in perspective, and it helped me as the leader understand more tangibly how they feel. It inspired me to think about the steps I need to take to help them get where they want to be.
This 1-10 thing...it’s good. Give it a whirl.
Big hugs,
