Ease into leading with questions

If a leader hasn’t led with questions, they need to ease into the practice.

What happens when the leader with all the answers suddenly begins to ask questions instead? Employees are likely to be uneasy by the sudden transition, and the leader’s efforts, even when made with clean motives, seen with suspicion. Some employees may have depended upon the leader to give them answers and have ceased thinking of solutions to problems they face. When the answers are no longer supplied, the employees may feel that the leader doesn’t care for them or the problems they face anymore. When their leader then begins to dig further into the problems with probing questions, the employees may interpret the leader’s switch as a mission to find fault and assign blame ((Marquardt)).

A leader who wants to shift to question-centered leadership must over-communicate his intentions to avoid misunderstanding. He must explain his motivation for change, and his desire to assist his direct reports in every way possible. He must emphasize that he still intends to remove roadblocks they encounter, and that his questions don’t indicate that employees are on their own.

Many benefits follow the corporate culture that encourages questions, and a manager who reads Marquardt’s book may conclude that they need to make this change soon. It’s important for the manager to recognize the messages that are communicated when they suddenly change their leadership style, and especially when they switch from directive to questioning. The added benefit of this methodical approach is that others are more likely to adopt the same style because they understand the value and know this is the leader’s desired culture.

My manager is predominantly directive in his approach to getting things done. The company culture; however, encourages questions, so I feel free to ask questions of him and others. If Mark suddenly began to ask questions instead of give advice, I know that I’d begin to wonder why.

Since I already ask questions so often it’s expected of me, my take-away is to keep going and not to make any drastic changes.

References