Leadership is often about the questions, not the answers
I’m coaching a Vice President right now who is brilliant. He is likely the smartest person in the company and it’s getting in the way of him being an effective leader. Team members are struggling with bringing ideas to him because they feel he’s already got it all figured out anyways and won’t listen. He’s working a lot of hours and regularly has to fix errors made by his team because of time sensitivity, but also their lack of critical thinking to solve complex issues. The team can’t manage without him and they don’t seem to grow their technical and decision-making abilities.
Over the past few weeks, he’s been practicing curiosity and including as many people as practical in the problem-solving process. He worked hard to put his judgment aside and ask lots of questions. With his focus on asking questions that spark critical thinking, he’s finding new and innovative ideas that are not only new for the company, but surprisingly new to him as well!
GREAT QUESTIONS
Here are a few great questions to help you practice letting go of giving out the answers, to develop your team and get to new innovation for your team. The best questions are open-ended and invite the other person to tell you a story and invite critical thinking:
What and How: These are the best question starters! Here are some examples: What is the problem you’re trying to solve? What is the outcome you’re trying to achieve? What might get in the way? How have you tried to solve this challenge already?
Questions that get you lots of information:
Tell me more about….
Help me understand…
What’s important about…
These questions are unique every time you ask them because they rely on you asking about something already shared with you to dig deeper.
What else?: This has got to be my favorite question. You can ask this follow-up question over and over again and watch the thinking of the person across from you keep going past what either of you thought was available to them.
WHAT TO AVOID:
Asking WHY: While “Why” is generally a helpful question, asking this question directly is often met with defensiveness or “I don’t know”. Ask “Why” using a “What” or “How” question: What led you to this decision? What happened? How did you get here?
“Queggestions”: These are suggestions hidden in clever questions. Also, known as leading questions. They often start with Could you … Did you… Do you… Have you… Notice the pattern that “you” shows up as the second word? When you want to give a suggestion, give the suggestion. Don’t hide it in a question.
Should: When we ask “What should you do?” leads to limited thinking. Asking “What could you do?” opens up possibilities. It’s a nuanced word choice and words matter.
If you want to be a leader that helps your team learn how to think critically, strategically, and systemically, ask more questions and better questions. It won’t be easy at first but I promise in pushing yourself, you’ll push your team to innovation and new ways of thinking they never thought possible.