Leading through Questions

Kenya, 1999.

Leaders generally become leaders because they are good at figuring things out and accomplishing things. This ability allows them to rise within an organization, or to come into an organization at a high level, or in some cases to create a new organization. But the essence of leadership lies not in doing things yourself, no matter how good you are at it, but leading, encouraging, and cajoling others to accomplish things. Delegating tasks to others—even tasks you excel at—frees you to focus on the most important issues, and allows you to leverage your abilities and have a larger impact than you would as an individual contributor.

"Delegating tasks to others—even tasks you excel at—frees you to focus on the most important issues."

Delegation can be hard. It can often seem easier to do something yourself, rather than lead someone else through the process to arrive at the desired result. But delegation is also necessary, so it is important to learn to do it effectively. As tempting as it may be, your goal when delegating should not be simply to accomplish the task at hand to your satisfaction, telling your subordinate exactly what steps they should take and what the end product should be. Instead, your goal, in addition to accomplishing the task, should be to teach your subordinate how you think about and approach such tasks, so that in the future they can carry out similar tasks with minimal input from you. In the long run, such an approach to delegation eventually tips it from being a hindrance to being a force multiplier, allowing you to accomplish much more than you could on your own.

A great way  to get people to think and learn, instead of simply following, is to ask questions instead of giving directions. Asking questions forces them to think for themselves, while still allowing you to nudge them in the right direction if their answers show they are missing an important part of the solution.

I saw this approach in action when I worked with the CEO of a smaller company that was in high-growth mode. Because of the company’s small size, it had developed a collegial culture where anyone could talk to the CEO, and she was always happy to give her advice; she would also drop in on meetings and help with projects. Initially this approach worked, because she was brilliant and gave great advice. But as the company grew, she found she had less and less time to focus on the bigger issues that needed her attention, and which only she could deal with.

To solve this problem, she shifted her approach. She stopped giving unsolicited advice, and while she still made herself available, instead of giving answers, she would ask questions to help the person clarify their own thinking. And in formal meetings, she required people to be specific about what they needed from her, and why her input was needed. This new approach forced everyone in the company to step up, and gave her more time to work on the problems where she provided the most value.

To make such a shift as a leader, it helps to have a set of key questions available that are appropriate for most situations, and make people think more deeply about a problem. You will develop your own questions that work best for you and your situation, but some questions I have found useful are: “What is your objective?,” “What have you tried so far?,” “What is your current recommendation?,” and “What do you need from me?” Asking such questions when someone approaches you with a problem teaches them to take responsibility and develop their own abilities, strengthening the organization and freeing your time.