ASK, DON'T TELL

(This was published in The Strait Times, April 10th, 2004 )

In order to be more effective in managing the increasing complexity of organization life, it may be more important for leaders to ask questions than to give answers. Such a statement is likely to turn the conventional concept of leadership on its head. The stereotypical leader is someone who is a tough guy, seldom in doubt and has the whole game plan all mapped out. All that is needed now is for the rest of the troops to fall in line.

In many organizations today, the myth of the take-charge leader is slowly being nudged aside. Observations and experience have shown that , except in cases of rare managerial genius, the collective judgment, enterprise, initiative , and ideas of a team yield far better progress and profits than does the effort and will of an individual. Well-known management thinker Peter Drucker has said that the leader of the past is the person who knows how to tell and that the leader of the future is the person who knows how to ask. In the same vein, a manager whom I know told me recently, " For as long as I have worked, my whole frame of reference was that I had to have all the answers. Now I'm discovering that it's far better for me to have good questions."

Why ask? Leaders who have developed the skill of asking questions instead of telling have identified the following benefits:

• Questions get us valuable information . With changes happening around us constantly, leaders really need to be updated or run the risk of making decisions based on inaccurate or wrong assessments. By asking the right kind of questions of people whom we meet, we examine issues in greater depth and learn about things that we may not even know of in the first place. When a leader asks meaningful questions, he is seeking both facts and feelings. Challenges facing the organization will not go away, but by asking we may identify them before they develop into a crisis. Or leverage them into opportunities ahead of others.

• Questions stimulate thinking and creativity. A powerful question has the same effect on the mind as the stimulus given to a fire by poking it. It disturbs the equilibrium and introduces external elements into an orderly if uninspired setting. At a recent sales meeting, the sales managers of a certain company were all upset by the aggressive price actions of their toughest competitors. Every one of them was recommending the tit-for-tat approach, i.e. to drop prices punitively. Finally their general manager asked, "What will be the final outcome if we all engage in a price war?" There was silence. The meeting soon went on to explore other counter measures that they could take to regain their market position.

• Questions drive commitment . Have you ever tried to offer advice to someone only to have that person respond in the usual " Yes, but" manner? The fact of the matter is that most people have pride in their ability to manage their own situations and therefore do not like to be told. If you rush in with your own considered views on what they should do, chances of acceptance will be low. If you are the boss, they may go along with you. But there will be little commitment. Worse, if telling is your style, they may come to expect it and develop a sense of dependency . In other words, they will come running to you for solutions each time they encounter a problem. If you now switch tack and ask instead of tell, the effect can be quite dramatic and comical the first time you do so. Imagine having to think for oneself for a change! By applying the questioning technique in a consistent , respectful and considerate way, the other party will soon realize that the boss expects her to think through the challenges and develop ideas and options of her own. As these ideas are hers, her sense of ownership will help her see through their execution.

• Questions get people to persuade themselves . When someone whom we are talking with is in a dilemma about something, by listening to him and judiciously raising some clarifying questions, we frequently surprise ourselves when he appears to have sorted things out at the end of the conversation. What we have done is to act as a sounding board, playing back to him issues and ideas that he is grappling with. The decision that he finally comes to may even be similar to what we may have recommended in the first place. But as he comes to it on his own, he feels that he is in the driver's seat when he persuades himself on what he should do.

• Questions connect you to the organization . The senior leaders of organizations are usually quite isolated and lonely. The nature of their work physically separates them from the front-line workers and the customers. Leaders who want to feel the pulse of their people need to find time to go out, mingle and ask questions. Just as doctors value the stethoscope because it brings them physically close to their patients, executives will find that inquiry invites a dialogue with their people. The very act of asking a concerned question changes the relationship between employer and employee, creating a more empathetic and egalitarian workplace. It gives the employee the chance to give his side of the story and the knowledge that he is being heard. That addresses a very important need in today's workplace- the need to feel important and make a difference. Executives who manage by walking about are making this vital connection with the workforce. This is one facet of the human touch so lacking in corporate life.

• Questions lead to actions . Asking questions is a powerful way to evoke a desire to take actions in a person. Using a series of well-constructed questions, a manager may help his co-worker to clear up fuzzy thinking, take the sting out of perceived criticisms, discover what is missing, become more aware of what needs to be done, explore options and finally gain his cooperation to take actions. Powerful questions compel attention for an answer, focus attention for precision and create a more motivating environment. Instructing does little of these.

In this age of hyper-competition, it is commonly acknowledged that the ability to learn faster than the competition and to adapt quickly may be the only real source of competitive advantage. A positive questioning culture recognizes that our people should all be learning for a living, that constant inquiry educates, enlightens and even inspires.

At the turn of the last century, English writer Rudyard Kipling wrote:

" I keep six honest serving men. They taught me all I knew. Their names are: What and Why and When and How and Where and Who."

How much more effective will today's leaders be if they apply this lesson from Kipling?

( Contributed by BH Tan. The writer is President , Coaching Associates Pte Ltd, an Asia-Pacific based management practice that works with multi-nationals and public institutions to achieve better business results through their people)

 

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