It’s not so much about having the answers, it’s about knowing which questions to ask!
One of the myths too many leaders believe is that they need to know all the answers. They tie themselves in knots – and create knots in their stomachs – trying to work it out on their own. But the truth is, it’s not so much about having all the answers, it’s about knowing which questions to ask. That’s what sets the great leaders apart from the pack. And also what brings confidence and the inner peace that goes with it, or at least less of the uncomfortable self doubt.
Why questions?
The power of questions isn’t just philosophical. It’s intensely practical – a bit of a life-saver for corporate leaders and business owners alike. When we move from trying to have all the answers to focusing on asking the right questions, we unlock four core capabilities that help and develop us, our team and our business.
1. Questions for Self-Reflection: Making space to think
Making space for reflection and thought is an essential skill to develop. Without it, as business owners we risk overwhelm, being busy with all the wrong things, and making decisions that miss the opportunities that matter most. As leaders, we risk reacting instead of considering, losing perspective and getting stuck in the present while neglecting the future.
Questions like these can help guide that essential course-correct:
- What’s really important about this decision?
- What’s the most important thing we need to achieve this week/month/quarter/year?
- Where am I spending my time, and what return am I getting for that?
- What assumptions do I have about the choices I’m making right now?
2. Questions for Growth: Coaching others to perform
Often we fall into the trap of doing rather than delegating because it feels easier, particularly when we’re under pressure. How many of us are guilty of thoughts like these? – “I don’t have time to explain, it’s quicker to do it myself”, “This is urgent, they just need to do what I tell them” or “I’ll have to do it, I can’t afford for them to make mistakes on this.” Or have tried to delegate and been met with endless pushback and inaction?
But here’s the thing. Whether we have teams of 500 or 5, each time we choose that quick fix or accept back the problem without question, we rob our team of the opportunity to grow and ourselves of future capacity. The skill is being able to pivot from instruction to question to help the team create the solution and provide us with the confidence that it will be ok.
Coaching is a whole topic in its own right, but a few simple tricks can get us on the right track.
- Turn ‘why’ questions (Why can’t you do it?) into ‘what’ questions (“What part of this task is causing you the biggest problem/concern?”)
- Encourage solutions – ask what we’ve done before that’s worked
- Prompt action – “Talk me through who you’re going to tackle this. Where will you start?”
- Manage risk – “What might go wrong? What else could we try?”
A really powerful question to ask ourselves is “What am I teaching my team by the way I act?” Do my actions demonstrate confidence or lack of belief? Am I building capability or dependency? Will they believe I want them to grow, when I deem some things too important to delegate?
3. Questions for Critical Thinking: Challenging the status quo
If we’re really honest, many of us prefer stability to change – or at very least, known to unknown. We get comfortable with our processes, our market position, our way of thinking. But comfort can be the enemy of progress, and sometimes just survival. The most successful leaders regularly challenge their assumptions and those of the team around them.
Curiosity is a skill we can all develop. For example:
- Challenge our own assumptions by asking, “How do I know that? What’s my evidence?” or “What if the opposite were true?”
- Challenge our business assumptions by asking, “What haven’t we tested recently?” or “What would an outsider ask about this?”
- Challenge our assumptions about our market by asking, “What would we produce if we were starting fresh today?” or “What happens if this trend disappears tomorrow?”
It’s all about exercising our thinking muscles and avoiding group-think – with each other or our habit driven selves. Curiosity isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a competitive fundamental. Businesses that learn to ask better questions, make better decisions, weather change better and build more adaptable organisations.
And by asking questions ourselves, we give others in our teams to do the same, building a productive and creative culture where assumptions are examined, not just accepted.
4. Questions for Innovation: Opening up possibilities
Curiosity identifies problems; innovation solves them in ways nobody expected. The businesses thriving today aren’t just those with great current products – they’re the ones continuously reimagining what’s possible. The fourth capability teaches us to ask questions that spark this kind of transformative thinking.
We’re told all innovation needs is creativity and that we just have to ‘think outside the box’ but that often feels easier said than done. Leaders who learn how to ask inspiring breakthrough questions can get ahead of the game. Questions like:
- “If budget/time/technology weren’t limiting factors, what would we do?” – to remove self-imposed constraints
- “What could our customers dream about being able to do (with our product)?” – to create a strong customer aspiration driven focus
- “If we gave our product away for free, how would we make money?” – to challenge business models & channels
- “What’s our DVD rental moment – what are we clinging onto that we need to abandon?” – to consider future obsolescence risk
Coupled with a focus on open culture and learning-led behaviour, leaders who can master the skill of asking thoughtful innovation questions give their teams the motivation to think big and create environments where breakthrough thinking becomes the norm, not the exception.
The power of the right question
The shift from “having all the answers” to “asking the right questions” isn’t just a leadership technique – it’s a fundamental change in how we approach business challenges. When we master questions for self-reflection, coaching, critical thinking, and innovation, we don’t just improve our own performance; we unlock the potential of everyone around us.
The most successful leaders aren’t those who know everything – they’re those who create environments where the best thinking emerges through thoughtful questioning.
What Next?
Start small. Pick one area from the four capabilities that resonates most with your current challenges. Try incorporating just one or two of these questions into your next team meeting or your own reflection time. Notice what happens when you lead with curiosity instead of certainty.
There are some resources for each area available in the Resources section of our website to get you started – https://www.perception-insights.com/resource
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If you’d like to explore how to develop these questioning capabilities more systematically – whether for yourself or your team – we’d welcome a conversation about how we can support your journey toward more effective, question-driven leadership.
