Why Elevator

What it is

From a goal down to its reason. Your mentee asks what the goal gives them, floor by floor, and tags each answer.

When to send it

Send it when a goal feels flat. It helps when a goal is set but the drive is missing.

• A goal without energyset, but nothing moves
• Someone else’s goala parent’s, a manager’s
• Choosing between goalswhich reason runs deeper

Filling it in

Ten minutes, one step at a time. Write a goal, go down at least three floors, then say how it feels.

1. Write your goalA short line is enough.
2. Go down floor by floorAnswer what the floor above gives you, then tag it.
3. Say how it feelsPick a feeling and how strongly the goal pulls you.

Reading the answers

Start at the bottom floor. The last answer is often the real reason; the tags show whose reason it is.

• Bottom floorthe deepest reason they reached
• For me · for othershow many floors serve others’ eyes
• Pullhow strongly the goal pulls, out of 10

Questions to ask

One question, then a follow-up. People who ask follow-up questions are liked more (Huang and others, 2017).

• Did the bottom floor surprise you?then: what does it tell you?
• How many floors were for you, and how many for others’ eyes?then: which ones would you keep?
• Is there a shorter way to the bottom-floor reason than this goal?then: what would that way look like?

Why it works

Asking “and what does that give you?” again and again leads from a goal to the value underneath it, a method called laddering (Reynolds & Gutman 1988). Goals that rest on reasons of your own are kept up longer and leave you better off than goals chased for approval (Sheldon & Elliot 1999).

Sources

• Reynolds, T. J. & Gutman, J. (1988). Laddering theory, method, analysis, and interpretation. Journal of Advertising Research, 28(1), 11–31.
• Sheldon, K. M. & Elliot, A. J. (1999). Goal striving, need satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(3), 482–497.

How a tool works on Mentornity

1. 1The mentor picks a tool from the library and sends it with a short message.
2. 2The mentee fills it in step by step; the answers are saved as they go.
3. 3Both see the answers, comment on any part and agree the next steps.
4. 4Only the two of them see the answers, not the program admins.

Guides for both sides

• Why Elevator for MentorsFor mentors and coaches: when to send the Why Elevator, how to read the answers, which questions to ask and how to agree a next step.
• Why Elevator for MenteesFor mentees and coachees: what the Why Elevator is, how to fill it in, where to find it and what your mentor does with it.

More tools: Goals and action

• Wish, Obstacle, Plan10 min

  Name a wish, picture the best outcome, find what inside you gets in the way, and plan for it with if-then sentences.

• Conversation Map15 min

  Talk one topic through: where you are, where you want to be, what already works, and one first step.

• Goal Clarity Map20 min

  List what weighs on you, see how much of it you control, and turn one point into your goal for the programme.

• Option Race15 min

  Seal your gut pick, race your options on four quick ratings, then see if the podium agrees with your gut.

• Inner Council15 min

  Torn between two options? Eight inner advisors vote, one by one. Where they split is where you are torn.

• Decision Balance15 min

  Weigh one decision: what you and people close to you gain or lose, how you would feel about yourself, and how others would see it.

All tools →