Why do we keep saying that good leadership is about asking good questions?
When I read the newly published HBR article "Good Leadership Is About Asking Good Questions", I was finalizing my next column in the Danish business newspaper Finans.
My title was - and still is - "No, good leaders don't ask good questions".
My main argument was - and still is - that when leaders are preoccupied with learning how to ask good questions, there is a risk that they create a culture where those who are NOT leaders do NOT ask questions because they have NOT learned how to ask 'good questions' and therefore do NOT consider it their responsibility to identify and solve important problems.
But reading John Hagel's article in Harvard Business Review made me curious as to why we keep saying that good leadership is about asking good questions.
I think there are two main reasons:
- Most of us - especially leaders - like the idea that we can make a huge difference for others by changing a little thing ourselves (like asking better questions)
- Most of us - especially leaders - are terrified of asking stupid questions
It's too late to change my column (I just sent it to my editor), but it's never too late to listen to other people's reasons.
So, why do you think we keep saying that good leadership is about asking good questions?