Historical February–March 2020 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Watching the throngs standing behind podiums and trading putdowns and syllables at the recent Democratic presidential debates gave me pause.
It wasn’t that candidate A was terrific or that I would be pleased to vote for candidate A, B, C, or, even G. Rather, as the program ended and I began to watch “Belching With the Stars,” I thought: Is this really the best way to choose a presidential candidate? Forget IQ, Rubik’s cube, achievement scores, g.p.a., MyersBriggs, and educational degrees. Sure, that stuff matters, but not nearly as much as you think.
The real value of such numbers and qualifications is to serve as a gate keeper: Not having a score of X or a degree in Y becomes a barrier, an easy way to determine who gets to ride the roller-coaster versus who can only stand and watch. Unlike the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter, these purported cerebral yardsticks don’t begin to tell us about someone’s smarts or values. Don’t be perplexed or confused. Hawkeye will share how you can know if this person is smart enough to give her control over your health and medications, if he is wise enough to manage your investment portfolio, or if they are caring enough to become a potential significant other.
They may have an IQ of 139, be wearing a snappy tie or a sparkling pair of shoes, or have a 4.12, but that’s not sufficient. Rather, you can tell what someone values and how smart they are by the questions they ask. Imagine that, someone’s questions are more important than their answers!
We are such an answerbased society that the thought of wanting and waiting to hear what someone wants to know is pretty revolutionary. Of course, their questions are really a statement about what they value and already know.
I mean, who wants to learn something that they don’t care about? And if a person asks, it probably means that they will listen, and that’s a good sign. Think about it. Wise people are inquisitive. Those folks who are, in fact, knowledgeable and skilled don’t need to tell you that. Indeed, they want to learn so they solicit your opinions.
They are good questioners. And good listeners!
In a previous chapter in my life, I often interviewed teacher candidates. Our interviews were inclusive, a candidate sitting around a table with four or five current employees.
I would start with a softball background question to reduce any anxieties, and then we asked about their educational philosophy.
A scenario would be offered – “You are teaching a lesson when a student says, ‘Why do I need to know this stuff?’ – and the candidate would respond with an explanation of what s/he would do.
The killer response, no way does this person get hired, was “That could never happen in my class!” After several other questions, including asking candidates to share a failure and how they responded to it, I would conclude the interview by asking, “Do you have any questions of us?” All of us doing the interview knew that we would learn what the candidates valued and saw as important by the questions they asked so we waited with anticipation. Well, dear reader, let me tell you, the candidates’ responses were quite illuminating. Occasionally a candidate would dumbfound us all by saying, “No, no questions, thanks for meeting with me, and I look forward to hearing from you.” Huh? How could this candidate not want to know more?!? Needless to say – although I am saying it – that candidate was sent the perfunctory “Thank you for your interest, but we are not considering you for a position” letter. Often there would be questions asked which affirmed our appraisal of the candidate.
They might be posed about class size, the aptitudes of our students, or the curriculum they would be teaching. Strong candidates embedded their knowledge in the questions they posed. Sometimes a candidate asked a question that reflected savviness. “How do you support teacher growth?” was one such question, as was, “Are multiple intelligences reflected in your faculty meetings?” Every once in a while, a candidate would ask a really fun question: “What qualities are you seeking in teachers that are different than those you sought a decade ago?” And, of course, some candidates would evince zero smarts by leading with questions about employee benefits or vacation days. You may not be formally interviewing folks for employment, but you are assessing “candidates” quite often. Is this someone with whom I trust my insurance needs? Do I want her to paint my walls? Is she a person I want cleaning my molars? Can I trust my child with her? Do I want to spend an hour or more over coffee getting to know him? Would I like to work for her or with him? Is she someone with whom I might want to develop a relationship?
To be fair, possessing a scholastic degree doesn’t end scrutiny but seeing a diploma in my dentist’s office is necessary for me to open wide. Likewise,
boarding a plane in which the pilot wears a company uniform with some gold stuff on his shoulders is comforting.
But regardless of whether someone is applying for a formal position or you are considering a new relationship, you can get a lot more information and insights by determining what they want to know. Understanding what’s on their mind will help reduce uncertainties in your mind.
A further Hawkeye tip: Rather than “What questions do you have?” try asking, “What surprised you?” It’s a great way to open their inner doors; it doesn’t steer or confine a response in any way. Give it a try, and happy questioning and listening to you!
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, February–March 2020.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Printed opening paragraph repeats November twenty nineteen debate column before changing to questions and hiring. Retained as source issue wording, not silently deleted.
Original source: SD_Times2020_02.pdf, printed page(s) 8; PDF page(s) 8.
