Topic: Asking Good Questions to Facilitate Better Collaboration and Enhance Relationships 

Speaker: Christine M. Anderson-Cook, Los Alamos, NM 

Date: December 11, 11:30am Eastern Time / 5:30pm Central European Time / 8:30 am Pacific Time

Abstract

I think most of us have an inherent sense that asking the right question in the right way at the right time can be critical to smooth-running teams and good collaborations. In this talk, I explore many different goals of question asking beyond the exchange of factual information or assessment. These include soliciting feedback, establishing rapport and inclusiveness, changing the flow of a discussion, and confirming the exchange of information. We benefit, and so do our colleagues. Understanding the diverse potential for how good questions can impact our collaborations makes us a better team member and a more sought-after colleague. Once the “why” has been considered, I will also present some strategies of “how” to pose questions to build an open and non-threatening environment. Details of the material are available in the JMP White Paper at www.jmp.com/asking-good-questions. 

Speaker Bio

Christine M. Anderson-Cook retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2021 after 17 years in the Statistical Sciences Group. Before her time as a Research Scientist, she was a faculty member in the Department of Statistics at Virginia Tech. She is passionate about statistical engineering and its potential for raising the impact that statisticians can have in their organization. In 2012, she co-edited (with Lu Lu, at the University of South Florida) the first Special Issue on “Statistical Engineering” in Quality Engineering. She is a regular columnist for the Statistics Spotlight in Quality Progress, and has written numerous papers and case studies on applied statistics and how to make it practical and easily implemented for problem solving and decision making. She is a Fellow of ASA and ASQ. She has been honored with the George Box Medal, the Gerald Hahn Achievement Award, the Shewhart Medal and the William G. Hunter Award.