Unoshandepi? (Where do you work?)

Unoitei? Unoshandepi? The same recycled question on the verge of becoming the Zimbabwean National Anthem. Too far? Ok, at best a possible domestic mantra. However, we are not asking it for interest’s sake. We ask this question seeking answers to our own topsy-turvy, career-life circumstances. As Dr. Tim Keller puts it in, “The Two Great Tests”, what each person is really asking for is Redemption.”

The suggested solution? Let’s. Ask. Better. Questions.

Let’s start with asking a new question that sounds something like this- “What are you passionate about?” NOT “What do you do?” I do a lot of things but it doesn’t mean they bring value, excitement nor provide self-actualisation. “What do you do?” limits me to tell you what the educational or socio-economic system has conditioned me to repeat, word for word, as rote-memorisation. Ultimately it is a binary, closed answer that does not create curiosity, spark ingenuity nor lead to discovery. I’ll never forget my class on “Interviewing- The Art of Asking Questions”, by Dr. Grabowski at the University of Mary, North Dakota. Initially the most boring 2-weeks of my life, turned into my life’s greatest asset, and the development of my Writer’s voice for “The Summit”, student newspaper and Corporate Earth Copywriters.

Asking, “What are you passionate about?” invites me to share an open-ended answer describing the value I bring. This is the point at which I begin to participate in my true civic duty. Civic engagement is not about us all becoming politicians or members of parliament- some are born to do it, but there are broader skillsets and actions outside of that narrow categorisation. “What are you passionate about?” let’s me invite you into the reality of the inner workings of my world. Ultimately, the question opens me up, to invite you, into what makes me, me and benefits you. You-the customer at my till spot in the grocery store. You!- the Kombie driver lit on bronco, or some other narcotics. You- the hustler-mom trading cross-border.  You!- the Zimbabwean community at large.

At the heart of it all, isn’t that what “Ubuntu”, or “hunhu”, is all about? Let’s. Ask. Better. Questions.

*Originally published by the Author at Kubatana.net Feb 2017*