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As a leader of others, the type of questions you ask can make a big difference in how well those questions empower and help team members grow.
First and foremost, think in terms of “open” instead of “closed” questions.
Open questions lead to answers filled with information. Beginning with words such as “who, what, when, where, and how,” open-ended questions are crafted in ways that encourage direct reports to open up and share answers in depth. An example would be, “How would you describe our company’s culture?”
Closed questions can only be answered directly with a word or two, such as “Do you like the culture here?” This limiting question, calling for either a “yes” or “no” answer. This kind of answer doesn’t lead you very far, and it certainly doesn’t kick-start a dialogue.
Use Numbers! Our brains love questions with a number in them! They’re great for stimulating creativity, focusing thoughts, and providing a simple framework within which to work. If you find a team member getting stuck with a particular problem, pose a numbers question, and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised how well it opens up a dialogue and creates a breakthrough.
Here are some examples:
“What are the three major challenges preventing us from reaching our goals?”
“What are the top four approaches we could pursue for the XYZ project …?”
“Let’s brainstorm the five most powerful ways we could …”
“What are the three most important steps we could take to achieve …?”
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