SUCCESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS NEWSLETTER
Volume #9 - April 2000
Powerful Questions
One misconception about leadership is that leaders have all the answers. Although knowledge and wisdom are crucial, one person can't know everything. Wise leaders are curious. They realize that rather than having all the answers it's more important to ask the questions. Skilled leaders frame their questions to elicit as much learning as possible, and then they listen on several levels to the responses they are given.
This ability to ask powerful questions is a key leadership skill that is critical for coaching, mentoring and developing others. Since organizations are looking for leaders at every level, all managers and executives need to learn how to ask powerful questions.
The way in which we frame a question sets the direction for the conversation. The intent of a powerful question is to reveal more, to learn more, to open us up to see new possibilities and new solutions; thus, powerful questions lead to greater creativity.
Like many paradoxes of leadership, powerful questions gain their power from their simplicity. A powerful question is usually short and seemingly even "dumb." For example, "What outcome do you want?" or "What's the next step?" or "What did you learn?" appear simple on the surface. But these questions cause people to become introspective and more reflective; thus, they are able to get to the heart of the matter.
Notice that powerful questions are open-ended "what" questions. They move a conversation forward because they require reflection and more than a "yes" or "no" answer. Their intent is to go beyond getting information -- it's to provide focus and to help us gain both insight and clarity.
A good number of my clients come to me because they are looking for greater fulfillment at work, and one of the first questions I ask them is "What would being fulfilled look like to you? When they get to the point where they can give me a fairly complete description, I ask "What do you need to do to make that happen?" And then we begin creating the steps they must take. The strength of this type of inquiry comes from its ability to elicit more authentic responses and to get people to think in a way that leads them to action.
Powerful questions also support collaboration because they enable everyone involved in the conversation to learn. They are great tools to use with teams in problem-solving. They make people stop and think. Because they arise from true curiosity, powerful questions are nonjudgmental. There is no or wrong answer. A simple question such as "What would that get us?" frees up people to contemplate the possibilities. If this type of inquiry were used more often in corporate settings, it would help to shift beliefs. Rather than viewing those who ask questions as lacking knowledge, people who asked powerful questions would be seen as leaders in learning and making things happen.
COACHING QUESTIONS ON POWERFUL QUESTIONS
- What keeps you from asking powerful questions?
- What do you need to do to develop the skill of asking powerful questions?
- What benefits do you derive from getting to the heart of the matter?
© 2000-2002 Virginia O'Brien All Rights Reserved
