HOW TO ASK BETTER QUESTIONS BY SWITCHING FROM ‘WHY’ TO ‘WHAT’ (AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT)

At lunchtime one day, I bumped into two managers who are also friends of mine. An impromptu conversation started with one of them about her longstanding intention of writing a book. Although this was a goal near and dear to her heart, she hadn’t been able to start. I asked her: “What is in the way of reaching for your goal?” She answered this question by honestly sharing several of her fears.

While we continued our conversation, her colleague was listening closely and a light bulb went on. Now she got why her employees were often on the defensive with her. She was asking them the wrong questions...