The Big Jump: Go From Having Answers to Asking Questions
Do you know the difference between a “worker bee” and a senior executive? Have you ever wondered what it takes to move up in the world to those loftier roles? It’s pretty simple. You need to move from a world where you provide all the answers to a world where you ask all the questions.
I know there’s a cheeky clueless executive joke in there somewhere but I’m actually not joking around (today is my 40th birthday and I’ve decided I’m going to be completely serious and professional this decade and if you believe that last part, you’re obviously a new reader to the blog).
As we enter organizations and rise through the ranks, we’re expected (and trained) to have the answers. We, after all, are the front line. We do the work. When someone more senior asks us for information, our job description is to provide it. And provide it we do. We become experts in our field. We know all the answers. We become that “go to” person Scott Eblin describes in this recent post.
And every day we kick butt. We know everything that’s asked of us. Heck, we get to a point where we’ve created everything around us. But one day we wake up wondering why we’re not getting promoted. We can’t figure out why we, the expert of all experts, isn’t rising to the executive ranks. After all, those guys are clueless. All they ever do is ask questions that we have to provide the answers to.
And that my friends is the key to the paradox of advancing to senior management. Questions.
Why Questions are Important
Along with an opposable thumb, we share one other trait with our hairy primate cousins – curiosity. We have an innate desire to understand “what happens if…” that begins in childhood. As we grow into adults, that natural curiosity dissipates and we’re expected to have those answers (school, anyone?).
Unfortunately, answers are all about what has already happened. By definition, arriving at an answer means we’ve understood some aspect of an inquiry. And yes, we now have new knowledge to share, act on, and impart to others.
But rooted in that new knowledge is that original question that led us to insight. Sure, sometimes it’s a dumb question that led to interesting answers but more often than not, the person asking the question has taken a step back from the day to day answers. They’ve tried to make connections, see trends, or predict the future and that’s what their question is about. They’ve looked in crannies others have ignored and they’ve shone the light of knowledge upon dark and overlooked recesses. That’s how they’re finding those new insights.
Now think about the smartest senior executives you work with. Ask yourself the balance between the number of questions they ask versus the answers they have. I’ll bet you’ll find the smarter ones ask really good questions. The weaker executives tend toward offering all the answers. The latter dynamic in its extreme can make them seem like autocratic dictatorial micromanaging know-it-alls who don’t let their team have any space to grow (a dynamic I’ve berated before in this post – I suggest you read it so you don’t become a detail-oriented control freak yourself).
What’s so cool about working with inquisitive execs like this is they open our eyes to new connections and possibilities. Even better is they’re not pompous asses – they’re not afraid to admit they don’t know the answers. In that admission is an incredible statement of confidence in their abilities. They view not knowing something (but knowing what they don’t know) as an asset versus the massive insecurity other execs demonstrate by thinking they have to know everything.
Hmmm… seems like the better execs and leaders out there tend to ask more insightful questions, have more comfort in not knowing things, and are willing to step back and let their teams kick butt in the pursuit of the answer. I’ll bet you’re thinking “Gee… maybe I want to be like them…”
How to Ask the Right Questions
Now look at your ratio of question to answers. If you spend 100% of your time providing answers, clearly you’re not stepping back and asking questions. But not every question is a good one. I hate the phrase “there are no stupid questions” because, actually, there are a LOT of stupid questions – we just don’t want to make the stupid people feel stupid for asking them.
You have to ask GOOD questions. So how do you do that? Step away from the need to answer it yourself. Step back from the knowledge you have and look across domains to find connections. Ask what things will look like in a year. 5 years. 10 years. Ask what happens if something new or unthinkable happens. What will the result be? And if that’s the result, what will happen next? Look deliberately for connections, trends, or predictions. Shameless plug for my business: if you’re interested in building your question-asking toolkit and you too want to be more insightful, I encourage you to learn about our course called thoughtLEADERSHIP: Thinking Beyond Business as Usual. It’s fun and awesome. Even better, it will help you become a much better question-asker.
Try floating these questions in a safe environment (a team meeting, with a peer, etc. – not with the Board of Directors, the CEO, etc.). Preface the question with “I don’t know the answer to this but I think this is something important we should look into.” By doing so, you’re signaling you’re not the answer person on this one. You’re inviting others to provide input. The more often you do this, the more folks will expect this behavior from you.
Now to pull this off successfully, you can’t then run off and come up with the answer yourself. Have others help you (or better yet, have them come back to you with answers). By moving out of the answer guy realm and into the question guy realm, you’re freeing up even more time to generate insightful questions, look at macro trends, and make future predictions. Before you know it, you’ll be the person asking all the great questions that your team will be eager to run off and answer.
Your task: go ask one really good question today. Resist the urge to answer it yourself. See what happens.
– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Photo: ??? by Charles Chan
Mike-Your post struck home so much for me today that I have added "getting better at asking questions" to my list of things to work on. Thank you.
BTW-Happy Birthday. I would have wondered what happened to you had you not given us a heads up on the serious and professional tone.
Thanks Mike, a great post, very insightful, and so true too!
I experienced that a few years back, and the move to the perceived uncomfortable area of the question guy one was awkward…but extremely rewarding nonetheless.
Welcome to the second part of your life, may the force be with you
Christophe
@Gayle – glad it resonated. Good luck with the questions and thanks for the birthday wishes. I appreciate it.
@Christophe – always great to hear from you as validation that the stuff I make up actually works in real life 😉
And what do you mean "second part" of my life? I'm thinking I'm just moving into the second *third* of it. Gonna stick around until 120 just to annoy people.
Mike,
I clearly accept that I don't have all the answers. As such, I look to access the "brain trust" of those in my work group for options and solutions to work activities. As a result, I have a "habit" (don't know if one would consider it to be bad or good) of asking thoughtful questions where the response triggers a follow-on one and so on. In fact, I have been accused of asking too many questions and come across as an inquisitor when all I'm seeking to do is understand.
Any suggestions as to how to correct that perception?
This is really the concept of coaching which empowers people to find their own answers. To me it's the future of leadership. Open ended questions that cause people to think out loud, then you hold them accountable for the goals they set. They make progress, give you credit, but they do the work. Brilliant!
@Lockett – it is a fine line. Ask a couple of questions and you're insightful. Ask a handful and you're a pain. My suggestion is to pare back the number of questions you ask or ask bigger, further reaching questions (which is the better option). Translation – if you ask 7 small questions to get to the big insight, challenge yourself to ask those questions internally then ask the 7th one to the group. Push your own thinking before pushing the thinking of others. Another suggestion is to ask the first or second question then see if others ask the 3rd or 4th natural question that follows. You don't have to have all the questions either…
Great ideas here.
I find that a lot of productivity is wasted because questions aren't asked. We often feel that asking questions makes us look incompetent.
As a result, we either ignore the problem we needed help with or we put it as a lower priority.
The other part to this is fostering an environment where asking questions is rewarded. If the workforce feels comfortable asking questions overall productivity would increase as well.
Looking forward to reading more on your blog.
Great Post Mike
Great Leaders ask the Questions that get their teams "out of the box" and inspire them to get the answers which define their future.
well written.
Successful trade, professional and other voluntary memebrship organizations have been working this way for over a decade. They have to – since decision authority often rests with a group rather than a single individual. For a cogent and practical explaination of [1] how to frame and inform a good question, [2] how to engage in meaningful dialouge, [3] how to assess appropriate action, how to assure action is taken [4] how to monitor and adjust the effect of decsions and [5] how to integrate such an approach into the culture of an enterprise – read "The Will to Govern Well" by Tecker, Meyer, Wintz and Crouch. the book is published by the American Society of Associaon Executives and is availble from ASAE and amazon.com.
Great post. A former boss used to ask questions as a sort of test. If you didn't give the "right" answer, it was duly noted. While this is extreme, I do think direct reports can get a bit queasy when the boss suddenly starts asking lots of questions, so some explanation of the new approach might help.
Questions are also a great way to get people to evaluate outcomes and how their behavior is helping them or hurting them in being more effective/successful. Oh…and it works just as well with children. Less statements more questions. Mike's right, however, it is a fine line.
Jim
Targeted curiosity is a learned skill that leads to the right questions and a sustained search for the best answers.