Asking Better Questions- Part 3: Mastering the Art of Inquiry

Do you find yourself asking the same questions (and hoping for different answers)?

In this series of posts, I’ll review some best practices for asking better questions.  (If you missed Part 1 “Are you asking the right questions?”,  here’s the LINK)

The authors of the article “The Art of Asking Smarter Questions,” published in HBR Magazine (May-Jun 2024), provide a simple framework for expanding your question arsenal. The framework also guides you through the key phases of inquiry that lead to better decision-making.

My big takeaway is that we each have habits and biases that lead us to ask a narrow range of questions.  These five questions style remind us to broaden our approach.

1. Investigative: What’s known?
   • “Why?” and “How?” questions
   • Clarify purpose, analyze problem, help move past generic solutions and develop more sophisticated alternatives
2. Speculative: What if?
   • “What if?” and “How might we…?”
   • Overcome limiting assumptions,  jump-start creative problem-solving
3. Productive: Now what?
   • “How will we get it done?” and “How will we measure progress?”
   • Assess the availability of talent, capabilities, time, and other resources
4. Interpretive: So, what?
   • “What did we learn from this?” and “How is that useful?”
   • Brings you back to your purpose, draw out implications of an idea
5. Subjective: What’s unsaid?
   • “How are we feeling about these solutions?” and “On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you rank our solution?”

In the coming months, we’ll deep dive into asking better questions to:

• Create psychological safety
• Deepen connections
• Influence others
• Uncover truths within your organization that you need to know but don’t yet know