Good Questions Make a Great Leader
Ask and you shall receive. When it comes to the art of leadership, this age-old saying holds a lot of truth.
If you want to be a better leader, a better manager, or a more effective professional, focus on questions more than answers. As Starbucks CEO Jim Donald told me recently, "Great CEOs don't tell people anything. They ask good questions so that the right answers emerge and people can make decisions for themselves."
I'd like to suggest an experiment. For the next two weeks, become a student of questions. Pay close attention to the questions that swirl around you -- in the office, in presentations, on the morning talk shows, during the evening news, in advertisements, online, when a salesperson is trying to sell you something, among your family, and with your friends.
See what questions stimulate the most compelling answers. Observe how people react when they're asked something, compared to when they're told. Become a collector of the most interesting questions and pull them out as arrows in your leadership quiver.
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