Leadership means asking great questions. But that’s not always as simple as it sounds.
Here’s a useful way of thinking about the types of question you can ask, courtesy of Christopher J. Frank, Oded Netzer, and Paul F. Magnone (link below):
🟦 Factual Questions: “This type of question has straightforward answers based on facts or awareness. These questions can be open or closed. The answers to questions are based on facts but may require an explanation.”
🟦 Convergent Questions: “These are close-ended questions with a finite set of answers. Typically, these questions have one correct answer. The most basic convergent question can be answered with a “yes” or “no.” “
🟦 Divergent Questions: “These are open-ended questions that encourage many answers. These questions can best be understood as exploratory — as means for analyzing a situation, problem, or complexity in greater detail and then predicting different outcomes. Frequently the goal is to stimulate creative thought or to expand the conversation.”
🟦 Evaluative Questions: “This requires deeper levels of thinking. The questions can be open or closed. Evaluative questions elicit analysis at multiple levels and from different perspectives to arrive at newly synthesized information or conclusions.”
👉 Read the article here: https://buff.ly/3ChcoUj
What also matters, of course, is how you put the different types of question into practice.
The “7 Sins of Questioning” shown here comes from David Marquet and his book “Leadership Is Language.”
David’s advice is:
1. Instead of question stacking, try one and done.
2. Instead of a teaching moment, try a learning moment.
3. Instead of a dirty question, try a clean question.
(A “dirty question” is one that suggests the other person is wrong somehow).
4. Instead of a binary question, start the question with “what” or “how.”
5. Instead of a “why” question, try “tell me more.”
6. Instead of self-affirming questions, try self-educating questions.
7. Instead of jumping to the future, start with present, past, then future.
Watch a video of David talk about this here: https://buff.ly/3Rtfso5
This sketch note comes from the marvellous Chris Spalton. Learn more about Chris’ work here: https://buff.ly/3RIQOkG
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