The story
Robin Willison began as a civil engineer, earned master’s degrees in public health, divinity and public administration, and worked for international humanitarian organizations in many countries. Today he is a consultant on disaster risk reduction and climate change, and an organic farmer in Batangas, Philippines.
In 1997 he sold his business and his car and flew to Azerbaijan on a one-year contract, to set up primary healthcare for the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. He was already three months behind schedule, and he was the only foreigner on the project.
“After a while, you will see further and further down the road, and I will come to an end.”
The skill at work: Powerful Questioning (Skill 6)
Powerful Questioning is the skill of asking the question that opens up thinking, rather than handing out answers. In The Adaptive Advantage we also call it Giving the Work Back. Robin did not have the answers, so he built the system around the people who could find them.
He was honest about what he did not know
When people asked when the system would start, Robin admitted he had read the proposal and could not make sense of it. Instead of pretending to be the expert, he went looking for the people who could become the experts.
He asked the candidates the real question
More than 250 doctors sent CVs he could not read. So he invited 36 recommended doctors into one room, presented five basic primary healthcare ideas, and asked each group: how would you apply this in your own local situation?
He listened for attitude, not answers
He could not follow most of the words, so he listened for attitude. Some said, in effect, “we know everything.” Others said, “we are very willing to learn.” He marked the second kind. At the end of the day there were exactly 15 check marks, the number he needed.
He told his team where this was going
His medical director said, “We still don’t know what you want us to do.” Robin answered that right now he could see further down the road than they could. After a while they would see further and further, and he would come to an end. His job was to help them use the skills they already had.
He made learning theirs too
Robin wrote the first health education lessons, taught the main staff, and had them teach the rest. “When you learn and then you have to share, that’s when you really learn.” He asked all 120 staff not just to treat disease, but to raise the health of the whole republic.
The work stayed with them
Within months, visiting evaluators called it the best organized primary healthcare system in the Caucasus region. Today it is part of the republic’s own Ministry of Health.
Try this
The next time your team brings you a problem, ask first: “How would you apply this in your situation?” Then listen to their attitude as much as to their answer.
More stories
Giving the Work Back: Jack Carney’s story of Powerful Questioning →
Solving the Right Problem: Amit Soundalgekar’s story of Powerful Questioning →
This article is our interpretation of Robin’s story, based on the conversation on The Adaptive Edge Podcast. The framework names are ours; the events and lessons are his own.