ARE YOU ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?

These days, it seems like anyone in possession of a social media account and a vague sense of current affairs is clamouring to offer their opinion on a seemingly endless range of topics.

The net result: a world filled with contradictory answers and increasing angst and division. If this leaves you questioning what on earth’s going on, and what can be done, you’re heading in the right direction! You see, the truly wise don’t always have the right answers, they pose the right questions.

WHY THE RIGHT QUESTIONS ARE THE ANSWER:

Insightful questions = better decisions. As we’ve reflected on our years of working with some of the country’s biggest and fastest-growing companies, we’ve come to appreciate how it’s the quality of the questions asked, as well as a culture of curiosity, that separates leading companies from those on the decline.

Good questions lead to greater innovations. Research shows that companies that embrace inquiry are more likely to foster a culture of innovation. In this study, those companies that prioritised employee’s voicing their opinions and queries were those that were ultimately more successful in the long-term.

The best questions bring our the best in people and companies. An article by Bain & Company indicates that leaders who encourage inquiry not only make more informed decisions, but retain the best talent. Deloitte agrees, finding that ‘asking’ more than ‘answering’ leads to stronger relationships and higher staff engagement.

NO QUESTIONS ASKED?

If you’re in a team that asks no questions or never pushes back, that’s a red flag. Barriers that stifle a culture of healthy questioning include:

• Fear of Judgment: Employees often hesitate to ask questions for fear of appearing uninformed. Perhaps those who have posed questions in the past have been ridiculed, berated or simply ignored.
• Time Constraints: Busy schedules promote quick, reactive answers over thoughtful, proactive inquiry. When leaders prioritise speed over substance, critical insights are often missed, increasing the risk of long-term failure.
• Rigid Hierarchies: Ironically, too many ‘little’ questions can also be a red flag. If employees are in the habit of asking countless questions as to how/where/when and what to do, they’ve lost their agency. In our experience, a culture of micro-management in organisations is highly inefficient. It’s often a symptom of strict top-down hierarchies, in which employees don’t bring their best selves to work, instead, they simply do what they’re told. No (insightful) questions asked.

ARTFUL QUESTIONS TO GET YOU QUESTIONING:

• Is your team a curious bunch? At work, is there space and time allocated to asking questions, not just providing answers, presenting results, and registering challenges and triumphs? What about creating space on meeting agendas to ask some of the big questions? Questions like: What can we learn from this? How could we make this project/service/product even better? Who could help us take this to the next level?
• How about you? What is your current question:answer ratio? Ideally, leaders should ask 3 questions for every answer they provide. So, when last did you ask a question to genuinely understand better? Here’s a simple litmus test: In the past 2 months, can you recall changing your mind or approach owing to new/better information coming to light?
• Can you hear the question beneath the question? In your pursuit of genuinely insightful questions that lead to better outcomes, some questions need to be interrogated a little. Statements disguised as questions, questions that imply blame, or that are burdened by too much emotion are counter-productive. The best leaders know how to quickly spot these, and dig for the question beneath these questions.
• What question are you grappling with? Curiosity is contagious. So, what are you currently most curious about? Have you allocated space and time to dig a little deeper, and engage a diverse collection of viewpoints on the subject?
• Which point above resonates most with you, and how can you begin implementing it this week?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

As experts passionate about solving complex problems, we’re always here to help you optimise your business by asking the kind of questions that lead to the right kind of solutions. Here’s how we’ve done just that of late:

• A Smarter Kind of Simple: Discover how our knack of asking the right questions, at the right time, led to another successful ERP implementation. This time, for one of Africa’s leading universities.
• Great Minds Align: We love to not just use the best tools, but partner with the best so that more businesses can benefit from our combined strengths and cohesive, integrated approach. Our recent partnership with Netcall is a perfect example of this.

And finally, here’s one last quote that’s stuck with me ever since my high school Math teacher, Tickey de Jager, repeated it eons ago:

Here’s to cultivating healthy corporate cultures that test assumptions and drive real innovation—one question at a time.

Until next time,

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