Leadership in Action: Power Source - Asking the Right Questions Energizes Leaders

AN OPEN DOOR

Powerful questions in the service of leadership typically have three characteristics: they invite exploration, resist easy answers, and invoke strong passions. Powerful questions pull people's attention to previously unnoticed places. They are offered as an open door, not as a criticism of the way things are.

When asking powerful questions, leaders should use them collaboratively. On occasion leaders mistakenly use questions to intimidate their colleagues. So attending to trust and tone is essential. Depending on the context, an exploratory question such as, “Why do we go about this task the way we do?” may spark defensiveness. One way to avoid this is to develop trust among group members before posing such a question to the team. ...