Question Thinking

From Judging to Learning

In the introduction to Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, author Marilee Adams writes:

“ Questions open our minds, our eyes, and our hearts. With our questions we learn, connect, and create. We are smarter, more productive, and able to get better results. We shift our orientation from fixed opinions and easy answers to curiosity, thoughtful questions, and open-minded conversations, lighting the way to collaboration, exploration, discovery, and innovation. I have a vision of workplaces and a society-of individuals, families, organizations, and communities-that are vibrant with the spirit of inquiry and possibility.”

She goes on to explore this via a fictional account of Ben Knight, whose career is hitting the rocks, and it looks like his marriage of less than one year might be doing the same. Thanks to a coach called Joseph, he switches from looking for the right answers to seeking better questions. I don’t think it’s a massive spoiler to say that this shift in perspective transforms both his job and his relationship.

Like many modern parables, Change Your Questions isn’t going to win prizes for literary lyricism any time…