"Where should we start?"
"What's the next step?"
"What do you think?"
One leadership skill I'm working to develop is to ask more questions and have fewer answers..
I've been inspired by a number of books:
Humble Inquiry (Ed Schein)
Good Leaders Ask Great Questions (John C. Maxwell)
Radical Candor (Kim Scott)
Multipliers (Liz Wiseman)
Think Again (Adam Grant)
30 Day Leadership Playbook (Nils Vinje)
...and luckily I have a bunch of colleagues Higher Logic who are really good at this.
It's intimidating.
If I don't have an answer am I somehow less valuable to the company?
Will it appear as thought I don't know something that I should?
I don't always get it right; sometimes I tell rather than ask. But when I do get it right the results are powerful:
- better ideas
- more inclusive debates
- more empowered team
- better end result
- more scalable and productive team (i'm not a bottleneck for all decisions)
This is my top leadership growth goal. Ask more questions, have fewer answers.
What's the one most important leadership skill you're working on?
