Monday Morning Motivational Message - Six Questions With Kat Cole

Katrina "Kat" Cole has been successful wherever she has worked. From her start as a hostess at a Hooters restaurant, she parlayed that opportunity to rise to the position of vice president of training and development for Hooters at 26 years of age.

In 2011, she was named president of Cinnabon and currently serves as president and chief operating officer for Athletic Greens.

One of the things Cole credits for her success is a model of fair, open, and honest communication among her team.  She achieves the benefits of that communication by having a two-way check-in with her direct reports every month (including her husband).

The major component of that check-in is the following six questions that she and her team ask each other (this is two-way communication):

1. What is the best thing that has happened in the last 30 days?

2. What is the worst thing that has happened in the last 30 days?  

3. How can I be a better ____________? (boss, partner, teammate, coach, subordinate, etc.)

4. What worries you the most?

5. What are you most proud of?

6. What are you most grateful for?

How much better would the personal and professional relationships in your life be if you spent a few minutes each month discussing these six questions with the people you interact with the most?  

Leave me a comment about the communication techniques you use in your personal and professional life and how those techniques have improved your relationships.