Power of Good Questions

Recently I was coaching a woman who had suffered a career setback. I asked her a lot of questions, and, while there were no easy answers, things began to come into focus.  She stopped at one point and said, “Wow.  The power of good questions.”  I agreed wholeheartedly, and this made me think about what makes a good question and why it’s powerful.

A good question doesn’t start with Didn’t you … Shouldn’t you … Can’t you …  It doesn’t disguise your opinion as a question.  It isn’t just an indirect way of telling someone what to do.

Good questions are powerful because they encourage people to think for themselves and, at the same time, to share their opinions and perspectives with you.  Both parties learn. And that’s the goal – learning.  A good question is formed from genuine curiosity and leads to exploration and discovery.

Below are my favorite learning questions. They are adapted from the work of Chris Argyris/Action Design Associates.  I share them with you in hopes they will foster learning on your teams!

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To Broaden Learning
• What’s your reaction to what I am saying?
• What are others’ views or thoughts?
• What might we miss by looking at it this way or by going in this direction?

To Deepen Learning
• What leads you to think this?
• What is an example of the kind of thing you are saying or recommending?
• What do you think might happen if we do X?
• What prevents you from doing X or looking at it this way?

To Help Resolve an Impasse
• What is the concern behind your view?
• What if we did Y? Would that settle your concern or would you still have doubts?
• Is there anything I am doing that is contributing to the problem from your point of view?
• What data, if we discovered it, would lead you to reconsider your conclusion?