Duck, Duck, Goose

Question, Question, Decision (and run!)

An effective leader knows what questions to ask, when to ask which ones, and how to ask them. He or she appreciates the value of divergent thinking.

“He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool for life” – Chinese Proverb

COVID reminded many leaders that they don’t have all the answers, and, highlighted the fact that today the challenges and opportunities for businesses are complex as things change and move rapidly.

Being vulnerable is the “it” thing! Being vulnerable, asking questions, making your team feel heard builds trust. Trust that will translate to action once decisions are made.

Here are 3 tips for asking great questions!

Stop With the Leading Questions

Leading questions basically translate into, I know the answer and you are wrong or don’t know the answer. News flash: you don’t know all the answers.

Start from a place of, maybe I am right, maybe I am not; maybe I am missing something; maybe I can learn something here. Get curious. Learn before you leap.

As a recovering-lawyer, I am well-versed in the Socratic method. That is the whole basis of law school. It’s asking questions you know the answer to, leading the person to “your” answer, or the “right” answer.  Anyone who has watched a legal drama on TV knows rarely is there a “right” answer.  

There are different ways of looking at the same thing. Ask your team, “tell me what you see here?”  

Focus on how and what questions. “How would you go about tackling this issue?” “How would you improve customer retention?” “What is keeping us from hitting our strategic goals or KPIs?” 

Stop With the Firing Squad 

C’mon how many of you have been on the receiving end of someone firing off a bunch of questions? Who can remember all the questions, decide what order to answer them, or (I know I am guilty) answer the ones you know and avoid the ones you don’t know the answer to?

You can also think about this as stacking the questions. The questions walk you through the leader’s thought process, -- how they would go about solving the problem or analyzing the opportunity.

 Not only do you want to allow time for thoughtful responses between questions, pause catch your breath, you also want to encourage independent thinking.

Remember silence is golden. Americans get all awkward after 4 seconds of silence. Deal with it. It takes people a minute to gather their thoughts. If you fill the silence, it’s often with, “well, I see the issue as X, right?” Hello self-affirming question!

Stop, Start Asking Closed-Ended Questions

Ok, that’s confusing. Everyone has been told to ask open-ended questions to invite conversation as a leader, to build relationships, and learn about someone’s experiences, expertise, ideas, values and opinions.

So, what do I mean? First, binary questions, ones you can answer with a “yes” or “no” should be avoided. “Are we ready to launch?” vs. “What could go wrong?” or “What other information or resources do you need to have a successful launch?”

Again, focus on “what” and “how” questions. You can throw in some “where” as well.

Yet, there is a time and place for closed-ended questions. At some point, you have to shift to questions that are forward-looking, or solutions oriented. Questions that reveal new insights and ideas. “How would you suggest we move forward?” “What do you see as the best option to increase engagement on our social channels?”

Once there are options on the table you move to the decision questions. Ok, we heard x, y, z proposed, rank them. “Which one resonated the most?” Remember, you don’t have to agree, you are the ultimate decision maker, but you do need to listen and consider.  

Finally, the action questions. “What steps do we need to take to get there?” “What’s a reasonable timeline?”

I often work with founders on their communication and messaging with the goal of getting their teams, boards, investors, customers, and strategic partners on board with their strategy and vision. This may suggest that you are doing the talking, you are supposed to be persuasive, get people to see why your way is the best. Yes, all true. That can only happen once you have asked the questions.

Think you might need to work on asking the right questions? Figuring when? How? What's your style? Set up a 30 min, no obligation, strategy call.