Field Note #1: Beyond Better Questions
I've been fascinated by questions for a long time.
Enough to write a book about them. Enough to create a deck of conversation cards. Enough that many people assume asking great questions is the heart of what I do.
They're not wrong.
A well-timed question can change the direction of a conversation. It can expose an assumption, surface something that's been sitting just below the surface, or help someone see a situation from a completely different angle. Questions create movement when people have become stuck in familiar ways of thinking.
What I've found myself paying extra attention to recently, though, is what happens after someone starts thinking out loud.
A leader says something that, on the surface, sounds almost incidental. It might be a passing comment about how decisions get made, an observation about where the organisation keeps getting stuck, or a tension they've simply come to accept as "just the way things are."
It's easy to hear it and move on, but I've found myself doing the opposite.
What if that observation is more significant than it first appears? What else does it help explain? Which other pieces suddenly make more sense if it's true? And if it is true, what are the implications for the way this person leads, or the way the organisation operates?
More often than not, that's where the conversation changes. Not because another question unlocked the answer, but because we recognised the significance of something that was already there.
Questions don't create clarity on their own. They reveal the raw material. Clarity comes from recognising what deserves attention, connecting ideas that didn't seem connected before, and understanding the implications of what you've just discovered.
This goes well beyond a coaching conversation.
Most capable leaders have no shortage of ideas, observations or experience. They're surrounded by information. What's often missing is the space to slow down, recognise what matters, connect the dots and understand the implications before deciding what to do next.
Questions remain one of the most powerful tools I know.
Their real power lies in recognising the significance of what people reveal through their answers.