The Art of Asking Great Questions

"The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge."

--Thomas Berger
 
 

Leadership is about influence and relationships.  When the leadership level is high, the leader is able to cast the vision, set the strategy and because of the leader’s influence, the followers follow. If the leadership ability is low, the followers look to the leader for answers to questions before proceeding.
 
Management is different. It is about making the leader’s vision happen. Managers influence people to accomplish the vision of the leader.  Managers work hard to get others to do things. 
 
As former CEO of Life Options, when the staff would ask questions, I would give them the answer and go on my merry way.  This was much easier than taking the time out of my crazy schedule to explain the answer. This worked well when there were only two staff and one building.
 
The more the organization grew, the more questions I answered. I really noticed this question answering challenge when we opened our second center in another town in 2009.
 
When I began applying leadership principles, things really changed. When my staff would ask a question, instead of the easy way of telling them the answer, I would ask them a question back:
 
“What do you think we could do?”
“What do you think a good solution would be?”
“How do you think we should handle that?”
 
If it was a legal or medical question to which I didn’t know the answer, I would ask them if they knew who to call or email to get the right answer.  If they didn't know who to call or email--I would give them that information.  At first, I suffered control freak withdrawals and my staff wondered where their old boss went.
 
I had set a standard for excellence and they knew what was expected, but because I had always given them the answer, they didn’t really trust themselves. As we continued with this new way of problem solving, they began to realize that I was going to answer their question with a question.  They thought of the solution before they came to talk to me. The conversations were more like this;
 
“Hey, I have this challenge and this is what I thought would be a good solution. What do you think of this?" More often than not, my staff began to come up with better questions and the best answer. They began to take on more responsibility and became more efficient at their jobs.  The bonus? Sometimes, they had better ideas than I would have ever thought of!!! AND I got my life back.

Developing and modeling leadership skills is contagious, as is the art of asking questions. Those you lead will watch you grow and believe that they can do that also. As they grow and become leaders themselves, occupational burnout can become a symptom of the past.

Curiously typed,

Jan