Do you remember growing up? You always had questions. Rarely did you have answers.
The older you got, the fewer questions you had. The more answers you seemed to find.
That might be true. The longer we’re alive, the more we learn and know. Sometimes the questions dry up.
Photo by Rohit Farmer on Unsplash
But…
Trouble arises when we begin to lose the desire to ask questions. Questions are a key to learning and growing.
And leaders are always looking to grow.
Today, I want to encourage you to ask questions. They can be silly questions, serious questions, or questions you just want to know the answer to.
Ask Questions
As children, we asked questions because we wanted to know the answer. We knew the more questions we asked, the more we’d learn.
- Why is the grass green?
- How did we come to be?
- Can I hold my breath longer than 5 minutes?
- Who found the United States?
- Why is water wet?
- Why do people die?
- Where did the dinosaurs go?
- What happened to that person?
- Do you love me?
- What are black holes?
These are but a few questions children ask. They range from wanting to know more about a specific topic or about feelings. The questions are all over the place.
The key is that they are asking questions. They have curiosity.
Yet, we lose that curiosity we had as children. We begin to put away, as we may see it, childish things. Adults don’t ask questions.
Hogwash
Adults ask questions. Or at least they should. More so for leaders.
There are great questions to ask to help you grow as a leader. My friend, Bob Tiede, even created a blog centered around asking questions. He believes leaders should lead with questions.
What questions should leaders be asking? Leaders should ask:
- How did we get here?
- What will get us to our goal?
- Am I wasting time?
- Where do I want to be in 5 or 10 years?
- Who can I help today?
- Why is the grass green?
- Is what I’ve read or heard true?
- Can you give me feedback?
- What excites you?
- And what else? (props to Michael Bungay Stanier)
- Why do you want what you want?
- What obstacles are holding me back?
- How can I overcome those obstacles?
- And more…
Keep asking questions. They’ll help you discover who you are, the world around you, and who the people you lead are.
Questions are a key to growth and knowing yourself and others. As you ask questions, keep track of what you’re asking and the answers you discover. You’ll find yourself with a wealth of information to use.
Why would we ever stop asking questions? There are so many answers that haven’t been discovered by you yet! Keep asking great questions. You’ll get answers to them eventually!
