What is a good question to ask? How do you find the right question for a specific situation? Why are questions such a powerful tool to unlock value in organizations, teams and individuals?

Asking questions enables:

• learning
• exchanging ideas
• innovation and iteration
• community
• building trust

…and it can mitigate risks by reveiling unforeseen pitfalls and potential issues.

One of my dearest business mantras comes from the German poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke:

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.”

How we use questions and for what purpose varies. My tip: For a day or two, be your own observer and note down which questions you ask to whom in which situation – and how many.

Learn to love the questions, too.

[Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels]