The question that teams still don't ask often enough

Every week, I share actionable tips and insights about collaboration and decision-making, to help you lead smart and result-driven teams.

Did you know that between a third and half of patients with a long-term condition do not take their prescribed medicines as recommended? The reason can be that the patient is unable to follow the treatment (e.g. poor recall, difficulties in understanding the instructions or inability to pay for the treatment). In many other cases, the patient decides not to take the medicine as prescribed, either because they believe that it will have a negative impact, they don’t see the value compared to the constraints and side-effects, or they just don’t think that it’s important to take it as prescribed.

Non-adherence to treatment has big costs for healthcare systems, society and for individual patients, and many organisations are actively trying to reduce it. Guidance to care professionals include encouraging the patients to ask questions about their medicine: why do I need to take this medicine? why is it important for me to take it as ordered? It is believed that a better understanding of the benefits, effects and working principles of a treatment can help patients stick to it.

How’s that relevant to you and your teams? Because this example in the medical field reveals a universal fact about people: understanding “why” is key to informed decisions, commitment, and action.

In the teams I’ve worked with, I’ve made it my everyday mission to make the implicit explicit. I ask “why” a lot, and any other question that will get the unsaid out of people’s head and into the open. I suspect that people find me annoying sometimes for that reason, but these questions ALWAYS reveal something that then influences the team’s course of action for the better: mitigate an unforeseen risk, explore an overlooked solution, move on from a red herring, etc…

Too many stones unturned

So often we dive into projects, meetings and decisions without pausing to check that we’re all on the same page. Or we just continue with what we’ve been doing for a long time, and leave assumptions and practices unchallenged.

I believe that everything a team does, decides, observes, measures, etc. should be grounded in a clear why. Even if that why is “we don’t know”. The point is for everyone to understand the current road, have the ability to look for better paths, be prepared for potential obstacles, and commit together to what seems to be the best way forward.

Rather than avoiding questions—because we fear that they challenge the status quo, could reveal gaps in direction or pose a threat to our authority—leaders should welcome and encourage them. Giving teams more context, inviting them to see the wider picture, and acknowledging and owning our blind spots builds trust. It also gives teams the chance to connect the dots with knowledge that they have on the ground and that we might not have seen from our position, allowing everyone to make better decisions and leading to better results.

Encouraging questions in a team

So how do we make asking “why” part of our team’s DNA?

• Show, don't just tell: Try to question things openly and often, showing it's not only okay but encouraged. Don’t be scared of taking a meeting off course to avoid the risk of leaving things unsaid.
• Make it safe: Create an environment where everyone feels comfortable asking questions, even the tough ones. No question should be shot down or ignored. “I don’t know” is an acceptable answer. Parking questions for later is also fine, as long as they are not forgotten.
• Build it into the routine: Integrate questioning into the team’s ways of working, processes, workflow, meetings… Make activities such as the 5 Whys , Ishikawa diagrams or the Iceberg model part of the team's toolset.
• Promote critical thinking: Look for training and resources that can help your team improve their ability to think critically and question constructively.
• Set aside a time for questions: Can you block some time where the team can ask anything in a safe space? Maybe use a Lean Coffee activity format to give everyone the chance to ask what they want and discuss as a team.

Asking why isn’t about being nosy or flipping the table. It's about making sure we're all moving in the right direction for the right reasons, making our work more meaningful and effective.

What are your favourite resources, books, blogs, people, etc. to learn about critical thinking?

Share in the comments!