Good questions change everything. Good questions shine a light in places we didn’t think to look. They push us forward and they open doors to areas we may not have thought to look.
They challenge us.
They change us.
Good questions take work to ask . . because a measured thoughtful generous question isn’t one that’s been tossed at you from afar. It comes from empathy, from thoughtful generous provocation . . and it’s not aimed anywhere.
It’s not trying to drag you from where you are . . to where I’m at. It’s not trying to discretely lead you somewhere. It simply says “hey . . what about this?”. Or . . “Hey, what’s really happening here for you . . ?”
Good questions take work to answer . . because they push you somewhere new. They pivot . . what you may have thought or where you might have been heading. Because they require honesty, if you’re really going to answer them.
They’re humbling, and sometimes they take a lot of emotional labour. But if you’re willing to do the work . . they can be change agents. For your thinking, your writing, your work, your relationships . . and your life.
Collect good questions and practice using them, hearing them and responding to them.
You can find a bunch of great interview questions to rethink the way you discover people & companies, over @ provocateurs.io . . here.
This podcast by two Ravens @ altMBA is a fantasic springboard to think more deeply about good questions & why they matter.
And here’s a list of great questions to get you started with whatever else you’re doing. Try them out and see what works. If you find a good one, pass it on.
acommonplace 