Guest Post by Richard Brody
Very rarely does any leader, no matter how effective or even potentially great, have all the answers.
What essentially differentiates the great leader from others is the quality of the questions that he asks, as well as the effectiveness of his listening.
There is a significant difference between asking the right questions, and simply asking some questions to make it appear that one is interested and concerned. A truly great leader thoroughly examines the facts, and it is that intense analysis and homework that develops the initiative to ask the really important questions. It is when one asks the right questions that he has the best opportunity to get the answers needed to create a good plan.
Tony Robbins put it this way, “Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions and as a result, they get better answers.”
- What makes certain questions better? The purpose of a leader’s questions must be to help get to crux or root of the matter, and to gather the greatest amount of detail and information, in order to make the best decisions possible. When this is done, a leader is able to develop a well thought out and detailed plan of action, in order to accomplish what his organization needs to be done. Only when someone does enough analysis first is he able to think of the real questions. Lesser leaders often ask lesser questions. A lesser question is one that is often simply a rehash of the same old, same old, and thus the answers receive rarely offer any additional information. On the other hand, a properly formulated and developed question delves into additional details that the average leader does not even realize needs to be asked. Too often, those in leadership end up closing their mind to alternatives and ideas, a condition that is exacerbated when there is not enough questioning done.
- The key is to gather the needed information. Rarely does all the information needed to excel simply appear before us, but rather it is a result of self analysis, study, homework, judgment, experience and expertise. Those assets combine to permit the great leader to delve into subject matters in far more detail, and thus get answers that others are unable to. However, merely asking the important questions is not enough, unless someone also listens intently and effectively, and asks the correct follow up questions, as well.
Great leaders analyze situations and alternatives by accumulating information. What better way to do that than by asking the pertinent questions?
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On the flip side of the last question, this one is difficult for many bosses to ask. After all, “what if they raise an issue that can’t do anything to change?” While this is a possibility, the words of hockey legend 
In the business world, eager curiosity is often associated with being a “newbie.” If you are a newbie, then asking lots of questions is expected. But after a short time, questions can give the impression that we are unprepared or less knowledgeable than we should be. “Expertise” becomes the standard expectation, and it gently guides us toward being less open and less curious. (Less of a seeker, and more of a teller.) Do you remember thinking to yourself, “I can’t ask that question. I should already know the answer.” It is this pressure that convinces many of us to assert ourselves convincingly, even when we are unsure. We tell, when we should seek.
In his blog 
Robert Bolton, author of 
David Rock, CEO and author of 
As Leo Tolstoy once said:
Henry David Thoreau once said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” As I survey the landscape of my own community and people in my network of influence, I see the wisdom of that statement affirmed. How many walk through life resigning themselves to their current reality? I believe most people live in “quiet desperation” because they’ve stopped asking questions. They’ve quieted the inquisitive child that once echoed from within.
I’ve started gathering my children around me each night and saying something such as “Kids, you can ask me anything you’d like. You can ask me about the moon, about God, about what makes you mad— anything. What do you want to ask?” I refuse to let the fire of curiosity flicker out, so I’m nurturing the habit of inquiry in their lives early on. They need to know that you can’t act on an answer you don’t have and you’ll never get the answer until you ask the question.
