August 20, 2010 – BizTimes – Karen Vernal – USA
In today’s world, there is pressure from all sides for leaders to have the right answers. There is internal pressure to be right, as well as the expectation of others for leaders to have the answers when there are issues to be resolved.
Often, decisions are made without sufficient exploration of alternatives, resulting in less than satisfactory outcomes.
When faced with a problem or issue to resolve, seldom do leaders begin by asking: “What are the questions we need to answer before making a decision?” Leaders are conditioned to tell, rather than to ask.
We have yet to recognize the wisdom expressed by Albert Einstein: “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask. For once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes!”
Most of us learned at a very young age that the goal was to have the right answers. We remember being in classes, hands raised, looking around to see who else might know the answer. Having the answer set us apart.
The message was successfully imbedded: right answers trump good questions. Read more.
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There is 1 Response so far...
The ‘right question’ can be purpose-driven, revealing, and transformational.
Is the ‘right question’ the result of consistent practice, intuition, questioning skill, or something else?
What could be the characteristics of the ‘right question’?
If we are to rank the ‘coaching skills’ required of a coach, how important is the ‘right questioning skill’ versus the ‘sequencing of questioning’ versus other questioning criterias?
Billy C H Teoh
Malaysia.