"The, the, the
Who, how, what?
Why, why, why?
If you don't ask, you stay stupid ..."
The lyrics and melody of the intro song from Sesame Street are catchy. It encourages young viewers to discover the world by asking questions.
But what is true for the "little ones" is all the more true for us adults. And the first principle is: he who asks, leads. Because anyone can talk. But the art of asking questions and listening with interest is an essential tool - not just for managers, but for almost every form of communication.
But those who ask questions not only lead, but by asking questions we also develop ourselves and others.
"How did you manage to win X?"
Or: "Which book has inspired you the most in your life? From whom have you learned the most? What do you understand by...?"
In the end: "The quality of our questions determines the quality of our lives." - You may be familiar with this saying. And it applies not only to the questions we ask others, but also to the questions we ask ourselves. Asking questions is part of the standard repertoire for anyone in management, but also for anyone who wants to develop themselves further.
Our lives always bring us to the results that we have created with our thoughts, attitudes and actions. As managers, we are the result of our employees. Thinking in this way, questions such as "What is my responsibility that has led to this result?" lead us to new insights instead of looking for blame on the outside.
Just like the question "What's good about it?" when we are faced with major challenges. Or looking at successes: "What led to this success?" This helps us to identify patterns or best practices that we can reuse. Not to mention that we also appreciate successes appropriately.
This is how we develop ourselves and others. And this is not just a need that drives me and many people, but something that we need today in order to shape our lives in our future AI-driven world.
Exciting impulses through simple questions
Often it's just simple questions that make us think. This was the case when we won the Allotrope Framework project and suddenly many large software and consulting players asked us: "How did you manage to win this project?" This question helped me to get to the heart of our strengths.
And sometimes simple questions can lead to unforeseeable consequences. That's what happened to me last year. A dietary supplement expert had told me about new study results. I wanted to know exactly and asked: "What is epigenetics?", "And what exactly do telomeres do?" Based on the answers to these questions, I completely changed my life. And lo and behold, within six months I had reduced my biological age by 3.5 years.
What questions can do ...😊.
I don't get such exciting impulses by constantly talking about myself, but by letting the other person have their say. Some people talk about "active listening". That may be true, but for me it is simply: listening and being interested.
Setting the direction together
Asking questions is a powerful tool, especially for managers. While instructions often lead to misunderstandings, a lack of commitment or even resistance, discussions and rejection, you can use questions to steer the conversation and really empower your employees. This allows you to understand your counterpart and meet them where they are at. And you can then determine the direction together.
You can also prevent misunderstandings by asking questions: "What did you understand your task to be?", "From 1 to 10 - how clear is the goal to you?", "How sure are you that you will achieve the goal?"
With the help of questions, I guide the employee to think. "What sub-goals do you see?" After such a question, the employee begins to break down the goal for themselves. They start to plan and structure. For me, providing the impetus that enables the employee to get going is leadership par excellence.
The cleverer the question, the better the result
But what meaning do questions still have when answers are seemingly just a mouse click away? How does AI affect this? I think the ability to ask good questions becomes dramatically more important with AI. Because the smarter the question I ask the AI, the better the results I get. The more precisely a question is asked, the more accurate the answers I get. The clearer the context I provide, the better the result.
So here, too, the following applies: if you ask, you lead, and you can even multiply your efficiency and effectiveness.
What question do you want to ask today that will help you or someone around you? Who would you like to learn something from today? How can you multiply your results? Or what are you grateful for today?
Torsten Osthus