One of the central attribute that I have observed amongst leaders I admire is that they ask questions. They ask relevant questions at the right time, suited to the need of the hour and appropriate to the person.

I still remember one of my previous bosses. My team used to work on extensive research and analysis, prepare analysis and take months to arrive at a good storyline for the client. But every time, that half an hour review happened with my boss, we were just torn apart. He used to ask questions, questions that matter, questions that are un-answered or answers are not apparent. We were always left wondering that how can we be so dumb to not to consider these fundamentals in our work.

He used to ask questions and we used to get the answers we needed!

That is the power of right questioning. This comes from experience. It is the culmination of knowledge, intelligence and experience. Leaders challenge you, they protect you from others by ‘attacking’ you at the first place.

Look for such questioning leaders and learn from them by making questioning (in the right spirit) a way of your life. Diving deeper till you get your answers in everything you do.