HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS LIKE A LEADER, NOT A MANAGER

Knowing the difference will help to make you the leader who accelerates new thinking and gets incredible results. Management is about stuff, the outputs you need to be a successful operation. Leadership is about inspiring people, and a huge part of doing that is through the questions you ask.

I’m giving you the goods here. But first, let’s bust a common leadership vs management myth.

‘Leaders ask, while managers tell’ is complete BS

Everyone asks questions. It’s the focus of the questions you ask that sets you apart and demonstrates leadership. I believed this myth for years btw. It held rent-free space in my head for most of the 90s when I worked in the financial markets in London. Barking orders and instructions were the expectation, and there were some highly talented barkers!

Since then, leadership and management expectations have changed a lot. We’re becoming more humancentric and recognise that curiosity is a success factor in careers at every level.

It’s normal not to know the difference between management and leadership-focused questions.

I’ve seen plenty of ‘leadership experts’ put management focus questions forward as examples of leadership. SMH!! (***Shake My Head – not Sydney Morning Herald).

It’s because most people in leadership start their careers by being great at operational stuff. From there management is the obvious next step, especially when you become masterful at what you do. And then you get brilliant at that too, and voila, suddenly you’re a leader, with direct reports, a budget and no real information or help on what it means to lead. Or, and this one really rips my nightie, you’ve never experienced great leadership. That happens far too often.

[If you want to read more about this, I’ve written a handy article and will link it at the bottom of this equally handy article.]

Reality bites

Before you read any further, it’s important to recognise that being in leadership generally means you need to do some managing as well. The key is knowing where you spend your time, where you need to focus, and when. There’s no good, bad, ugly or super ugly about it, just awareness.

What questions focus on at the different levels

Operational questions are about:

• details

• emails or documents

• customers

• specifications

Management questions are about:

• outcomes and deliverables

• policies, processes and procedures priorities

• risk

Leadership questions are about:

• strategic alignment

• values alignment

• visionary thinking, innovation and opportunity

• culture and wider organisational impact

• opening Pandora’s box, looking her in the eye and saying, “Make mine a double!!!”

Management questions usually have an answer, while leadership questions often challenge the status quo and lean into uncertainty.

Examples of questions at different focus levels

Ops: Why did we choose this supplier?

Managers: What processes did we use, and do they align with our procurement policy?

Leaders: Does this procurement align with our values, and turbocharge our strategic objectives?

Ops: How did this get broken?

Managers: What was the process or system that allowed this to happen?

Leaders: What does the business need, and do we have the right people to do it?

Ops: What transactions are behind this data?

Managers: How are we looking against budget? How will this impact our forecasts for next year?

Leaders: What’s possible with this new information? How might it impact the culture here?

Ops: Where are we at with action request x?

Managers: How do we prioritise these requests? Are we meeting targets and expected wait times? Does everyone have what they need to get their job done?

Leaders: What do our clients want a year from now and how do we get there?

Ops and management questions aren’t wrong, or bad. They are aimed at different focus levels.

Leaders don’t ask ‘why’ questions

I’m not giving you a hall pass for level-one curiosity! ‘In almost any language ‘why’ questions ask for justification. Not only do they tend to back people into a corner and make them feel nervous, but you won’t get quality responses.

Why questions are more closed in focus and typical at an operational level.

If you’re a fan of the 5 Why’s process, as a leader you need to leave it behind. It’s a great method. Understanding root causes at an operational and management level is smart. But as a leader, you only need the summary.

Trying swapping out your ‘why’ questions with ‘who’ and ‘what’ instead

Read these to hear the difference

• ‘Why wasn’t this done on time?’, becomes ‘What barriers do we need to remove so that you can be more efficient at your work?’

• ‘Why aren’t people buying into our values?’, becomes ‘What needs to change in our strategic messaging?’

• ‘Why are you late for work again?’, becomes ‘What’s going on for you?’

Leaders ask positive questions

Put away your rose-tinted shades, this isn’t about ignoring the negative. This is different and there’s some basic neuroscience to illustrate it.

Try this mind-bending exercise:

• don’t think about a large grey elephant

• whatever you do, don’t think about a large grey elephant

• try harder not to think about the grey elephant…

It’s hard to do!! That’s because our brains don’t process negatives well and by the time we translate the negative ‘don’t do this thing’ instruction the seed is already sown. We’re like guided missiles towards our words. So, ask about what you want, rather than what you don’t. As a bonus, when you’re in that toward mentality you’re also more open to new thinking and the quality of your questions and answers will skyrocket.

Here are some examples of common questions becoming positive questions for leaders

•  ‘Why are our clients not coming back?’, becomes ‘What do our clients need more of so that they are loyal for years to come?’

• ‘Who dropped the ball here?’, becomes ‘What’s a different way this could be solved?’

• ‘Why didn’t we make budget?’, becomes ‘What can we do to generate more revenue?’

 Okay smarty-pants, you already noticed that the positive frame questions are also leaders level questions. Nice.

And there you have it, a masterclass in asking the leadership questions you need for next level performance, innovation and engagement.

Here’s your action plan to make this juicy nugget a powerful piece of learning

1.     Notice the questions you ask most often. Are they management level, or leader level?

2.     Try out the types of questions I’ve suggested. You can drive them like you stole them and use my words, or craft them into your own

3.     Develop an arsenal of leadership questions that you can ask daily

Get stuck in and be even more brilliant.

PS: Want to read more about the difference between management and leadership? You can do that here