TO ASK A QUESTION OR TO QUESTION? THAT IS THE QUESTION

I came across a piece written by Aja Frost in The Muse about leaders asking questions. She describes how she felt her role as a leader required her to always have an answer, regardless of the question, but soon discovered working through questions as a team and arriving at a solution together proved more successful.

This reminded me of something I've bounced around in my head from time-to-time over the last several years: good leadership asks questions, good leadership doesn't question. There is a difference.

When working toward goals, asking questions promotes dialogue that leads to well-thought-out solutions with the thumbprints of several team members, not just one person. When we accomplish goals as a team, we experience success together and reap the benefits of a job well done. It also places leadership on a more even, relatable plane with employees and promotes a cohesive environment.

So, how does this work when leadership has to address an issue within its staff? When leadership is faced with confronting an issue, it's because someone or something served as a prompt. Here's the fork in the road. Leadership can ask questions or can question. How these matters are approached can have long-lasting effects on team members, positive or negative, and possibly their productivity and trust in leadership.

By asking questions, leadership is showing it wants to understand how the issue might have occurred, before arriving at what will be a more educated conclusion. When we are questioned, we feel threatened, we feel the conclusion has already been decided. When we are questioned, it often comes with an accusatory tone. It's akin to the condemned person in court who is given a chance at the end to make a statement (maybe, not that dramatic, but it's a point). It's possible some employees may initially assume they're being questioned, depending on their personalities or previous experience with other bosses. That has to be navigated and comes with trust building, which is entirely another topic. What's important here for leaders to understand is why an issue arose. This can only happen by asking questions.

As I was wrapping this up, an email from Scott Monty titled, The Blame Game, popped up. He wrote about leaders and accountability, and this stood out:

"Leaders at all levels, from a first-time manager to a long-time CEO, are watched and scrutinized by their teams. Their actions and reactions will tell a story more clearly and effectively than any narrative they put in place."