Questions the Answer?

Can asking great questions be the answer?

I’m on the hunt for great questions. Ask my friends, my advisory board, and even the occasional dude seated in seat 17 D. I know one when I hear one. I get an adrenaline rush when I hear one and ask an occasional one.

Read Leading with Questions, Michael Marquardt.

Great questioning skill is the big underused leadership tool and skill in our personal and professional life. I will share some of my observations for you:

1. Childhood fear of asking questions still with us? Many were discouraged from asking challenging questions at home, in school, and even at church. Some of you were taught it was rude to ask challenging questions, as they may be considered rude or authority provoking. As a result, many are less than comfortable and even competent in asking great questions.

2. Leaders feel it is important to have answers rather than questions. The fear of leaders being unable to answer questions may lead to an inability or lack of desire to ask great questions.

Marquardt shines the light of history and shares examples of what happens when leaders do not ask questions:

• Sinking of the Titanic
• The explosion of the Challenger Spacecraft
• The Bay of Pigs Invasion & Missile Crisis