The Lessons We're Living: The Power of a Good Question | Everyday Leader Podcast

The Lessons We're Living: The Power of a Good Question

Episode 43 · Self-awareness · Jun 5, 2026 · 7 min

A client asked Shannon this question, and she brought it straight to the podcast: what lesson are you in the middle of right now? Shannon and Conrad explore what makes a question powerful, why this one lands differently from simply asking what you are learning, and how accessible it is -- applicable to anything from an internal shift to a skill you are building to a relationship you are navigating.

Listen on Spotify Apple Podcasts

What you’ll take away

A powerful question creates an impact -- it has you pause, look inward, and slow down. That impact is the point, not the answer.

"In the middle of" is key -- you do not need to know what the lesson is yet. Just noticing that something is stirring is enough to begin.

Try it yourself: what lesson are you in the middle of right now? What are you in the middle of exploring? Let it land and see what comes up.

Transcript & Show Notes

Shannon

Welcome back to Everyday Leader. Shannon here with Conrad. We are going to jump right in with a question that came from one of my clients today. She asked it of herself, and I loved it so much I wanted to bring it here. The question is: what lesson are you in the middle of right now?

Conrad

That question has me pause immediately. It has me look inward and slow down. And that is exactly what makes it powerful. A powerful question -- some call them open-ended questions, some call them thought-provoking questions -- creates an impact on the person receiving it. That impact is generative. It opens something. The point is not just to get an answer but to create a different quality of thinking.

Shannon

And one of the things I love about this particular question is the phrase "in the middle of." You do not have to know what you are learning. You do not have to have it figured out. You just have to notice that something is stirring -- something appearing, something you are understanding a little more or a little differently. That is enough.

Conrad

For me, the lesson I am in the middle of right now is something around attention. Where am I putting it? What is drawing it away from what actually matters to me? I do not have it fully formed yet -- which is exactly the point. It is a lesson still in progress. And naming it out loud, even incompletely, gives it a shape I can work with.

Shannon

And the question is incredibly accessible -- it is not limited to internal work or professional development. What are you in the middle of learning about a relationship? About a skill? About how to use space in your home, or how to adapt as your family grows? Any of these count. The question meets you wherever you are.

Conrad

So here is the invitation as we close: practice powerful, open-ended questions -- with others and with yourself. And try one of these on this week. What is the lesson you are in the middle of right now? What are you in the middle of exploring? Sit with it. Let us know what comes up.

Shannon

Thanks everyone. Be well.

Transcript lightly edited for readability.

Previous episode

Episode 42

Old Growth & New Growth

What in your leadership is still serving you -- and what might be blocking new growth? Shannon and Conrad explore renovation over reinvention.

Self-awareness· 9:59

→