Square One Leadership

Your questions are on the hot seat.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. – Albert Einstein

Imagine being able to have a firm grasp on a situation. You know what to do in just about any given situation and are calm, cool, and collected as you share your strategy for success with others. This may seem impossible, and for most it is, but a good great leader can achieve this level of confidence through questioning. This isn’t because they have more talent or are better suited for the position, but rather because they ask great questions! When a leader asks questions, and is willing to be asked questions they are much better equipped for what lies ahead. This is an Inc. Magazine article that describes specifically the power of questions.

As a leader we must:

1. Question assumptions: Assumptions keep us operating at the current status quo. They cause us to believe that nothing is wrong and nothing needs to be fixed. If we as leaders operate under assumptions we will believe that things are good even when they’re bad. Assumptions are lethal to any group. And you know what they say about them! Here is what Forbes has to say about them.

What assumptions do you have that need questioning?

2. Ask the right questions: It isn’t enough to ask just any question, questions must be thought out and purposeful. Questions should be considered as tools and each job requires a unique one. However, before we can ask any body else the hard questions, we must first be able to ask them to ourselves. Robert Steven Kaplan writes a book on this subject: What To Ask The Person In The Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming A More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential. Also, here’s a list of questions to ask ourselves as we lead others towards change.

Are we asking ourselves the right questions?

3. Ask other leaders questions:  I came across this thought from one of Michael Hyatt’s blog posts. When we ask other leaders the right questions, we enable ourselves to question the status quo and rid ourselves of assumptions. Here are the questions on Mr. Hyatt’s post.