Better questions

Wednesday, September 16

Great leaders ask great questions. They are curious. They seek to go beyond the surface to figure what is really happening, and why it is happening, so that they can create a plan for change and growth.

When someone makes a mistake, they don’t ask questions like:
“Why do you always do that?”
“Why are you so bad at that?”
“Are you ever going to figure that out?”

They ask questions like:
“What were you thinking in the moment?”
“What did you see that made you make that decision?”
“What do you think would be a better move the next time?”

Those questions lead to awareness and solutions. They lead to growth.

But the same is true for us to ourselves. I would argue that we are the product of the questions we ask ourselves. Because the questions we ask ourselves shape what we do next.

When you make a mistake, have a bad performance or a bad day, we typically layer our questions with shame and judgment. A better frame would be observation and curiosity.

“What was I feeling in that moment?” instead of “I suck at this.”
“How prepared was I?” instead of “I always screw this up.”

Better questions lead to better outcomes.


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Keep chopping wood. 🪵🪓

-Kevin