What Got You Here Won't Get You There book club questions

1. 1.

   Which of Goldsmith's twenty habits do you most recognize in yourself? Be specific.

2. 2.

   Think about a time you 'added value' to someone's idea when what they really wanted was to be heard. What did your contribution cost the other person?

3. 3.

   Goldsmith says needing to win every argument is one of the most common derailing habits in senior leaders. What does winning every argument signal to the people you work with?

4. 4.

   Have you ever made a justification that prevented you from actually changing something you knew you should change? What did the justification feel like from the inside?

5. 5.

   The book recommends apologizing without justification. Try drafting one in your mind right now for something you've done recently. How hard is it to leave out the 'but'?

6. 6.

   What behavior of yours do you think is most visible to your colleagues and least visible to you? How would you find out?

7. 7.

   Goldsmith argues that behavioral change requires going public — telling people what you're working on. Why is private change less likely to stick?

8. 8.

   How often do you give recognition to the people around you? What's the observable effect of that on how people behave around you?

9. 9.

   Think about someone whose behavior regularly frustrates you. Is there a possibility that you exhibit the same behavior in a different context?

10. 10.

    The feedforward process asks for input on the future rather than judgment of the past. What's the most useful feedforward you've ever received?

11. 11.

    Goldsmith says the coaches he works with are not failures — they're the most successful people in their organizations. What does that say about who is and isn't open to behavioral coaching?

12. 12.

    Which of the twenty habits is most costly in your organization's senior leadership? What's the downstream effect on the people below them?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.