Surprise! Surprise? Surprise.

Colleagues,
 
MVP: Asking “what surprised you?” can yield surprising results.
 
Lately I have found myself asking one question a lot: What surprised you?
 
In the past week or so I have asked these people that question:

1. An Appalachian Trail through hiker 200 miles into their journey
2. A new department head in a university
3. An assistant principal after walking through classrooms with them

 
In each case the person spent several seconds reflecting before they answered the question.
 
The question itself is a surprise, because how often do people ask it?
Because it is a surprise, it causes us to examine events from a different perspective.
 
That is where the magic happens.
 
Asking “what surprised you?” is so simple and takes very little time.
 
It isn’t a panacea, but it is good medicine!
 
On next Tuesday’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast, I will do a deep dive into five-minute coaching, from which the surprise question is drawn. I hope you’ll tune in.
 
Cheers!

Frederick