Leadership writer John Maxwell writes, “Good leaders ask great questions that inspire others to dream more, think more, learn more, do more, and become more.” One of the most underlooked aspects of highly-effective leadership is asking open-ended questions to achieve results. Leaders who spend more time talking and less time listening and asking questions, miss out on meaningful opportunities. Here are five key question starters for growth:
- What: The first question for growth is the what question. By asking questions that include what, great leaders narrow down on very specific aspects of the strategy that is happening in the organization. These questions include the following: What are you working on? What matters most? What is next in the process? What will impact us the most? Highly-effective leaders develop insightful what questions in order to better understand strategy.
- Why: The second question for results is the why question. Because this question helps leaders dig into the larger purpose behind actions, asking it often helps narrow the focus and commit to what matters most. Great leaders focus on the larger picture through asking the why questions. These questions include the following: Why are we taking these actions? Why does this matter to us? Why have you made this decision? Why do we exist as an organization? Elite leaders really narrow in on the why questions to get a larger purpose behind the work.
- How: The third question to achieve great results is how. This particular question revolves around the actions we’re taking in order to achieve the what and the why. When leaders think about results, asking the how questions provides opportunities to narrow in on those ideas. These questions include the following: How will we achieve this goal? How will we execute this process? How do we use each person’s skill set? How do we know we’ve reached our goals? The best leaders consistently ask how in order to continue moving the actions forward.
- Can You Explain: The fourth question step for results is a follow up question. Great leaders ask their people to explain more in order to better understand where they’re coming from. This question allows for greater clarity around the what, why, and the how. These follow up questions include the following: Can you explain what you mean? Can you explain how that works? Can you explain why that matters? Leaders who achieve results consistently ask others to explain more in order to dig deeper.
- Will You Say More: The final question for success is another follow up question. Leaders who want results often get their people to say more about specific areas. Similar to getting a better explanation, but this question provides more detail in order to see how the pieces fit together. These follow up questions include the following: Will you say more about that idea? Will you say more about the process? Will you say more about your thinking? The leaders who ask this follow up question receive great detail to what’s happening in the organization.
Highly-effective leaders ask open-ended questions in order to achieve better results. Utilizing these questions allows for leaders to learn about people, understand greater detail, and move the organization forward. The importance of asking great questions continues to be overlooked in the impact it has on end results. Great leaders implement questions strategically to help the organization improve.
What questions do you ask in order to achieve better results?