How Would You Rate Your Questioning Skills?

The Seattle Chapter of WIAL-USA meets monthly to learn, share best practices, and use action learning to help others solve real, urgent problems. The WIAL method of action learning is a powerful problem solving methodology with two simple rules:

1. Statements can only be made in response to a question.
2. The action learning coach has the authority to intervene when learning opportunities arise.

The process is simple as well:

1. The ‘problem presenter’ takes no more than 3 minutes to share their problem (or challenge or opportunity).
2. We’ve all been involved at some point in our lives where a problem is presented and the group immediately jumps into solution mode; offering solutions without truly exploring the true nature, depth, and cause of the problem. This is the most important element in my mind, as it allows the group to apply multiple perspectives and lenses to the problem, and then arriving at a shared understanding of what the real problem is. During this phase, the group, made up of diverse people from a variety of disciplines, asks questions, of the problem presenter and each other, working to gain clarity about the problem presented.
3. Eventually, the group reaches consensus about the problem and defines it for all to agree.
4. Then, and only then, the group moves to solution mode, coming up with creative solutions that truly address the issue and create action plans to resolve the problem.

Action learning is new to many of those who attend the meetings. During each meeting, the group has worked with a problem presenter to help them solve a real, urgent issue they are facing. During last month’s meeting, everyone agreed that they weren’t very skilled at asking questions. This is frequently a surprise to adults. We think we know how to ask questions, but in truth, we’re not very good at it. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

1. We ask leading questions, trying subconsciously or not, to get the person to answer with what we want them to say.
2. We ask a question, but rather than actively listen to the response, our mind is racing ahead to the next question we want to ask.
3. We ask a lot of yes or no questions, that don’t elicit a very useful response.
4. We don’t build on questions. We simply pepper the person answering with a series of questions that don’t move the conversation further.

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Two year olds are very good at asking questions. What two year old hasn’t been known to ask “Why?” frequently, to the adult’s despair. But something happens as we mature. We lose the ability to ask questions. I think it’s because we lose our curiosity. We are a society of experts, hired and paid for our knowledge. So why would we ask questions when we’re paid to have answers?

I’ve worked with many leaders through action learning and the one thing they consistently walk away with is an increased awareness and appreciation for the importance of asking questions. It makes them better leaders. It makes them more successful. Dr. Mike Marquardt, founder of the World Institute for Action Learning (www.wial.org), dedicated an entire book to leaders asking questions, called Leading with Questions.

So, during last month’s Chapter meeting, this lack of skill in asking questions was evident. The group asked if we could use this month’s meeting to simply focus on building our questioning skills. So, that’s exactly what we will do. The Chapter’s April meeting, held Monday, April 11th will be dedicated to learning how to ask better questions. There will be ample opportunity for every attendee to practice and help others grow their skills. I’m looking forward to the meeting! And I can’t wait to see the impact it has going forward when we work through problems in future meetings.
Meeting Information:
Monday, April 11th, 5:00 – 7:30 pm
Montlake Library
2401 24th Ave E
Seattle, WA
 
For more information, check out our website at seattlewial-usa.org, or contact Andrea Cole at andrea@colecoach.com or 240.401.2673.
 
Andrea Cole, M.A. is an organizational development coach and consultant who works with organizations to find sustainable solutions to achieve business results. With more than 20 years in Fortune 500, Non-profit, and Government Contracting, she has the experience to understand and resolve your problems while building leadership capacity, employee engagement, and improve team performance. She is currently Director of Chapter Development for the World Institute for Action Learning – USA and past executive board member of the global World Institute for Action Learning.