Grow on the Job by Asking Good Questions

One of the surest ways to learn on the job is to ask more questions, according to a recent article published at Forbes.com. We’re not talking about questions that simply confirm what you know or fill in some blanks. The best questions are open-ended, inviting both you and your co-workers to think more deeply about a topic.

One approach is to become more “future-focused,” writes Ann Kowal Smith. Instead of asking “how” or “how much” (factual questions), ask “what if” or “what might be,” she writes.

Another tool is known as the Five Whys. This technique is used for root cause analysis. As an example, let’s say your team missed the deadline for a key project:

• Why did the team miss the deadline? Because three of the five members delivered their components too late.
• Why were they late on their components? Two of them had been pulled onto another project.
• Why were they pulled onto another project when this deadline was looming? Because the exec was not aware they were already on a time-sensitive project.
• Why was that exec not aware of it? Because that information had not been shared outside the team.

Once you get to that root cause, you can shift to future-focused questions, e.g., What kind of process would ensure this doesn’t happen again?

Asking such questions gives you deeper insights both into work and your organization, and it helps you contribute to the success of your team in new ways.

It also makes your team more effective. That’s because asking questions requires vulnerability, and vulnerability builds trust. “Good questions, whoever is asking, strengthen the skills that help people work better together,” Smith writes.

Check out the full article at Forbes. You can learn more about the Five Whys technique here or here.

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