Having the courage to question is one thing, but what about developing an understanding of the types of questions to ask?
Harvard Business Review asserts that “asking questions is a uniquely powerful tool for unlocking value in organizations: It spurs learning and the exchange of ideas, it fuels innovation and performance improvement, it builds rapport and trust among team members. And it can mitigate business risk by uncovering unforeseen pitfalls and hazards. But few executives think of questioning as a skill that can be honed—or consider how their own answers to questions could make conversations more productive.
That’s a missed opportunity. The good news is that by asking questions, we naturally improve our emotional intelligence, which in turn makes us better questioners—a virtuous cycle. The authors draw on insights from behavioural science research to explore how the way we frame questions and choose to answer our counterparts can influence the outcome of conversations. They offer guidance for choosing the best type, tone, sequence, and framing of questions and for deciding what and how much information to share to reap the most benefit from our interactions, not just for ourselves but for our organizations.”
Good questioning is a life-long and globally relevant skill. You don’t know what you don’t know, until you ask!
New to Preshil? Come to our next tour and ask us questions about your journey at Preshil!
