Questioning : An Underrated Superpower

If?you?could?have?a?superpower,?what?would?it?be?

Personally,?that?would?be?the?skill?of?questioning.?It?is?such?a?powerful?and?seemingly?under-appreciated?tool?to unlocking negotiations, rallying?teams, uncovering?insights,?getting?what?you?want.?Yet?during?my?schooling?years,?I? have never had?a?proper?lesson on?this:?when,?how?and?what?questions?to?ask, in?which?situations/?context,?and?for?what?objectives.

The?first?aha?moment?for?me?was?when?I?read?expert?negotiator?Chris?Voss’s?‘Never?Split?The?Difference’.?How?do?you?get?hostage?takers?to?do?what?you?want? One?common?thread?across?the?different?chapters?outlining?his approach, was?the?tactful?use?of?questioning.?The?human?nature?yearns?for?autonomy,?and?people?want?to?come?to?their?own?decisions.?Asking?the?right?questions?can?bridge?that?gap.

Questions?jolt?people?and?ignite?new?ideas.?They?open?up?possibilities,?and?rally?people?to?a?strive?for?great.?Thus?when?I?chanced?upon?this?book, ‘Leading?with?Questions’?by?Michael?J?Marquardt?and?Bob?Tiede,?I?picked?it?up?right?away.?What?kinds?of?questions?do?the?greatest?leaders?in?the?most?respected?organisations?ask??I?was?deeply?fascinated?and?wanted?to?learn?more.

‘We?run?this?company?on?questions,?not?on?answers’

-Eric?Schmidt,?Google

Hopefully?some?of?these?pointers?will?be?useful?for?you?too!

AVOID

Why?did?you?do?that?

Whose?idea?was?it?

Why?is?this?behind?schedule?

Too?many?close?ended?questions

TRY

What?do?you?like?best?about?this?company?

What?do?you?like?least?

What?would?you?change?

What?might?be?some?the?reasons?why?we?do?things?this?way?

What?might?be?a?root?cause? (As?opposed?to:?What?is?the?root?cause??Adding?‘might’?is?disarming?and?reduces?stakes?for?the?answerer,?encouraging?a?freer?flow?of?information)

What?question?could?I?be?asking?you??What?might?be?a?blind?spot?for?us?

REFLECT

What?questions?can?I?ask?to?uncover?unknown?unknowns?

What?is?important??Why?is?it?important?

How?can?my?questions?be?challenging?yet?unthreatening?

Am?I?asking?the?right?people?the?right?questions?

What?am?I?solving?for,?and?is?that?the?real?problem?

What?questions?can?I?ask?to?foster?transformative?thinking?

What?questions?have?I?asked?today?that?worked,?did?not?work,?and?what?can?I?do?better?

Are?my?questions?coming?from?a?place?of?curiosity?and?objectivity?

What?assumptions/?biases?did?I?feel?

Takeways:?It?is?impossible?to?be?a?know-it-all.?Without?an?inquiring?culture, bad?ideas go?unchallenged,?and?key?information?remain?hidden.?Leaders inspire?their?team?when?they?demonstrate?humility?and?the?willingness?to? learn. People?are?more?committed?and?motivated?when?they?find their own?answers.

Vectors?pointing?in?all?sorts?of?directions?sums?up?to?zero.?Drawing?learnings?from?Edward?De?Bono’s?‘Six?Thinking?Hats’,?there?is?great?power?when?teams?think?in?parallel?and?row?in?the?same?direction.?There?is?tremendous?and?practical?value?of?patience?and?humility?in?the?workplace!

(If?you?were?able?to?speed?read?this,?it's?called?Bionic?Reading,?you're? welcome!)