The Value
Organizational researchers from Clay Christensen to Ed Schein offer compelling findings that emphasize the importance of questions for learning, organizational effectiveness, and innovation. David Cooperrider, founder of the technique called Appreciative Inquiry, reminds leaders that “we all live in the world our questions create.”
While many people sing the praises of questions, few offer insight into how, exactly, to ask better questions. This half-day learning experience inspires leaders to be more curious and expands their capacity to ask great questions in a variety of business situations. You can enrich your questions in ways you may never have imagined, and in so doing immeasurably enrich the quality of thinking and collaboration inside your organization.
The Workshop
Emerging from 25 years of research and teaching in critical thinking at Stanford University, and 10 years of research and teaching in organizational development at the University of Michigan, this 4-hour workshop teaches leaders both the art and science of asking better questions.
Beginning with the science, we will introduce you to the world’s most comprehensive analytic questioning framework – the 7Categories of Questions. Far from a checklist, this powerful framework will illuminate the differences between questions we ask when we want to pursue different purposes, such as diagnosing the causes of problems, imagining strategic solutions, checking evidence, examining assumptions, learning new concepts, focusing meetings, or implementing decisions quickly.
Turning to the artful side of asking questions, we will dive into the value of asking vs. telling, explore the challenges of leading through questions, and engage in activities that will harness your curiosity to bring your best questions to life.
Leadership Outcomes
Specifically, you will:
- Dramatically expand the repertoire of questions you use to examine issues, manage projects, and engage your team in deeper thinking and collaboration.
- Examine the types of questions that are most helpful and generative in different types of discussions.
- Learn how to maintain curiosity, openness, precision, and an orientation toward learning even in the face of time pressure, complexity, or disagreement.
Review tools and techniques for building questioning muscle across a variety of leadership situations.