Asking Better Questions

This post is an homage to my friend Tanner Wortham about a LinkedIn post he wrote on asking better questions. Here is a large part of it—

Having the answers might have got you promoted to management, but it won't get you to where you want to go next.

Asking better questions will.

You have just one brain so find ways to harness the collective intelligence of your team. Here's some tips to get comfortable with asking better questions:

1️⃣ Think you're good at? Find out. In the next team meeting, keep track of how many questions you ask and how many statements you make. After the meeting, do the math. Did you ask more questions than statements? The best leaders are having conversations with ~60% questions.

2️⃣ Stay curious and check in with yourself. When you sense you're becoming judgmental or prescriptive, your questions will no longer be sincere or useful.

3️⃣ If you have one true answer, give it. Don't ask a question and make your team guess. No one enjoys a condescending game of trivial pursuit.

4️⃣ Questions that start with "what" are usually best. They surface assumptions and shift perspectives. For example, if you are worried what happens if the team does x, don't say, "be sure to solve for.." Instead ask, "What do you intend to do when..." It's subtle but effective.

5️⃣ "How" questions are usually about solving a problem. They can get great, if you need to get into the weeds.

6️⃣ "Why" questions are typically about justification. Be careful. Depending on when and how they're asked, it may make some defensive.

7️⃣ Yes/no questions are good, but if you chain too many together, it can feel more like an interrogation than a conversation.

8️⃣ Be willing to ask the dumb question no one else will. If you're confused by something, know that others in the room likely are too. One great way to begin such a question is, "How should I think about....?"

9️⃣ Take an introductory coaching course. You'll find many coaches are masters at asking questions so borrow from what you observe.

Tanner’s wisdom stands alone, so I won’t add any commentary. I will note that #8 is my personal favorite and #9 should be a part of everyone’s learning journey.

Stay agile, my friends,

Bob.

BTW: I can’t talk about asking questions or coaching questions without mentioning Erin Randall – https://rgalen.com/agile-training-news/2022/5/15/agile-coach-and-tips-spotlight

I consider Erin to be one of the wizards of effective questioning.