7 Curious Questions for Better Team Thinking
As children we ask the question “Why?” a lot, because we are trying to make sense of the world.
When my son was a toddler I remember him asking me, when we saw a snail clinging for dear life to a railing, “Why do some ‘slugs’ have houses, but others don’t?” 💕
As adults we lose the desire to ask curious questions. But curious questions are the starting point of all innovation and progress.
In my work as a leadership coach, part of my role is to encourage teams to ask the questions people aren’t asking.
Why Do Curious Questions Matter?
Without challenging the current approach to how you have always done things, your team is unlikely to generate any new thinking or fresh results.
Curiosity is about gently challenging the status quo and often, this kind of thinking can have a tremendous positive impact on the results your team can achieve.
7 Curious Questions to Ask Your Team for Better Critical Thinking
Here are some examples of curious questions you might want to apply to a team meeting today:
#1
“Why are we doing things this way?”
(Because we always have done).
“Yes, but what tells us that this is the best way?”
#2
“If a competitor tried to disrupt us tomorrow, what weakness or blind spot would they exploit first?”
#3
“What are we doing as a team, that to an outsider might seem irrational?”
#4
“Where are we expending effort, without creating meaningful value?”
#5
“If we each improved our approach by 5%, what would we do differently?
#6
“Which team habit contributes most to our success – and which one quietly undermines it?”
#7
“What’s the one thing we’re overcomplicating right now?”
What was your one big take out from this post?
I hope you’re thinking of at least one new way to encourage greater curiosity in your next team discussion!
