Why leaders should ask questions

“If the day I came out of your tummy is called my birthday, what is the day called when I went into your tummy?”

I reckon there was quite a pause, then.

You can imagine that was a special mother and son conversation...

Kids are curious. It’s how they learn. And they ask lots of questions.

On a huge scale.

One study done in the UK looked at the number of questions asked by children.

Between 7.19 a.m. and 7.59 p.m.* the average parent is faced with answering a question from their child every:

1) 11.24 seconds
2) 2.36 seconds
3) 5.15 seconds

What do you think?

It’s the second answer.

Mindboggling, isn’t it?

Although if you live with toddlers or little people you’re perhaps grinning in recognition or maybe even thinking, they ask even more frequently in my home.

But when it comes to being curious adults ask far, far fewer questions.

And yet curiosity is identified as the one quality needed to survive (thrive?) in times of uncertainty and change.

As a leader, asking questions has lots of benefits:

💡 It keeps you open to new ways of thinking, being and doing.
🛝 It fosters a culture where people trust each other.
🪄 It creates an environment where people can be innovative.
💚 It raises employee engagement and sense of belonging.
⚡️ It empowers people to come up with their own solutions.

And so my question is, how can you use your questions today?

*What am I curious about? The very, very specific timings of when this study started and began.