The Power of Asking the Right Questions
Why Great Leaders Don’t Have All the Answers
A few months ago I attended a success seminar in Waikoloa, Hawaii. There were several highly sought after speakers, authors, and businesspeople speaking and sharing over 4 days. One of my close friends who hosted the event on the last night asked if I would come to a dinner for the roster of speakers. Needless to say, I was honored and I accepted. But I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass me by. I wasn’t going to go and talk about my own accomplishments, I wasn’t going to go and see who I could network with to make money, or look for a moment to snap a pic for Instagram. No, I was going to go and LEARN something. How was I going to do it? By asking some good QUESTIONS.
As we sat around the table enjoying our meal, no one was talking, there wasn’t much interaction, when all of the sudden the host of the dinner, my friend blurted out, “Dave, do you have any good questions? You ask better questions than anyone else I know!” Guess what? I was ready and you wouldn’t believe all the wisdom, stories, and truth that was shared that night just because I had the right questions.
Legendary Leaders take action, but they can’t take action without making decisions. They can’t make decisions without making distinctions, and they cannot make proper distinctions without asking the right questions. Without asking the right questions, you won’t take the right action.
Many leaders make the wrong assumption that if they’re the leader they should have all the answers. Asking questions makes them look weak or ill prepared. But the fact is, most people never fully understand the entirety of anything on their own, that’s why it’s important we learn how to ask questions. We need to tap into the wisdom and knowledge of others to help fill in the gaps in our own knowledge.
"I keep six honest serving-men. They taught me all I knew. Their names are: WHY, HOW, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHO."
— Unknown
"Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed."
— Proverbs 15:22
One of my mentors, Bobb Biehl says that “No problem in the world has ever been solved without a question or series of questions being asked first.” Bobb recommends that you and I create lists of questions that we carry around in our planner or our phone so we can be ready at a moment’s notice to learn and grow. Here are his 8 Question Types with their functions that you can begin to use today:
Problem Solving - Function: Finding an unknown answer or solution. - Examples: What, why, when, who, where, and how much?
Teaching - Function: Teaching someone a new insight or thought. - Examples: What next? How?
Mind Stretching - Function: Considering new and creative dimensions of a situation. - Examples: What if? Why?
Inner Searching - Function: Starting an introspective process. - Examples: Ask why ten times in a row.
Logic Checking - Function: Keeping from making unnecessary and obvious mistakes - Examples: Checklists and Lingering Questions
Prioritizing - Function: Defining the most important steps or items. - Examples: Which one? Which five? What is the primary?
Conversational - Function: Passing information and passing time. - Examples: How’s the weather? What kind of gas mileage do you get?
Researching - Function: Collecting basic data. - Example: How old are you? What blogs do you read?
Question for Growth:
Do you have a daily personal growth plan written out?
Book Recommendation:
The Question Book by Bobb Beihl