Good leaders push against the viewpoints and opinions others hold. While they hope their challenges reveal the convictions others hold about their opinions and help distinguish between good and bad ideas, the best leaders do this primarily to stretch and develop how others think.
Leaders who think of themselves as developers of talent are less concerned about the imperfections inherent in almost any viewpoint. Instead, they focus their attention on getting others to examine what they truly believe and to learn how to think more critically in the process.
They accomplish this by crafting questions that invite team members to engage in self-exploration about the assumptions underlying their opinions. Such questions don’t have to be uncomfortable, demanding, or offensive. In fact, when composed by a skillful leader, the best questions are steeped more in curiosity than provocation.
The best questions gently force others to look at the assumptions underlying their views and examine the thinking and feelings just below the smooth surface. Consider this short list of questions:
- Can you tell me why you feel the way you do?
- What fundamental beliefs must you hold to take that position?
- How does your personal experience and background shape your view?
- What data or evidence most validates your viewpoint?
- Your perspective seems quite different than others, how did you get there?
- If you held the opposite view, what would be the strongest argument or evidence?
- What core values are connected to and support your opinion?
- Why do you think others might disagree with you?
- What are the implications of believing this is the most valid viewpoint?
These questions, and others like them, invite the other party to go deeper in the conversation and to explore what is really at play with the ideas they believe in.
Carefully worded questions have the potential to open up conversations rather than shutting them down. In fact, they move people “off script” and out of the automatic response they are comfortable and used to. Great questions prompt others to self-interrogate their own views. Not surprisingly, this line of questioning produces more candid conversation and promotes better long-term thinking and decision-making.
The best leaders don’t think of challenging questions as queries that threaten, demean, direct, or contradict what others say. Instead, they understand the power of a curious but challenging question to promote open dialogue, engender the exploration of ideas, and to teach people how to think more critically. Exceptional leaders are always teachers.
