Leading with Questions(Not Domineering with Answers)

Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the
Right Solutions By Knowing What To Ask

"Do people give you the information you need to perform well? Does everyone in your organization understand your vision for the future? Do you know what your boss is really thinking? In a study from the Center for Creative Leadership it was discovered that the ultimate key to successful leadership was an executive's ability to ask questions and create opportunities for others to ask questions.

"In Leading with Questions, internationally acclaimed management consultant Michael Marquardt shows how you can learn to ask the powerful questions that will generate short-term results and long-term learning and success. Throughout the book, he demonstrates how effective leaders use questions to encourage participation and teamwork, foster outside-the-box thinking, empower others, build relationships with customers, solve problems, and much more. Based on interviews with twenty-two successful leaders who "lead with questions," this important book reveals how to determine which questions will lead to solutions in today's complicated business world.

"Marquardt reveals the stumbling blocks that can get in the way of effective questioning and outlines a variety of strategies for learning to ask questions that will get results. Step-by-step, he walks you through the process of learning the art of questioning and shows how to use the techniques of active listening and follow-up. In addition, he presents guidelines for using questions in myriad situations with individuals, teams, and organizations.

"Leading with Questions is your guide for understanding when, how, why, and where to lead with questions. Questioning leaders from DuPont, Alcoa, Novartis, and Cargill will show by example how to become a great leader who asks great questions." Leading with Questions : How Leaders Find the Right Solutions By Knowing What To Ask - Michael J. Marquardt

Leading with Questions Sampled on Google Books

"In Leading with Questions, Michael Marquardt maps the future of leadership. '"The leader of the past was a person who told,"' Peter Drucker once said. '"The leader of the future will be a person who asks."' Read this book if you want to see the future."'
-- Robert Kramer, director, executive education programs, American University" Leading with Questions on Amazon.com


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Can an Environmentally Pure Business Thrive?

Niman Ranch - Perfect Meat,
Not Profitable Business, Now New Owners;
What's Next?

"Bill Niman built a $65 million empire on a simple idea that revolutionized the food world - that meat could be more than just what's for dinner. It could be raised naturally, humanely and sustainably, better for people and the planet. Niman knew success would take time, but believed his methods would prove profitable.

"But in nearly 30 years of existence, despite becoming the darling of high-end chefs and turning the brand into a household name, Niman Ranch never did turn a profit. In fact, it was broke. To save it from Bankruptcy Court, the East Bay company merged last month with its chief investor, Chicago's Natural Food Holdings LLC, and Niman was officially out." Niman Ranch founder challenges new owners

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Design Science, Leadership,and What It Means to Be Human

Buckminster Fuller, Design Science,and Bucky's Once-Protege,My Sometimes Mentor Gil Friend

get blogs here

A designer is an emerging synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist and evolutionary strategist. -Buckminster Fuller (Bucky was a powerful influence on me, and certainly on my notion that the sustainability challenge is fundamentally a conversation about design.)

'If success or failure of this planet and of human beings depended on how I am and what I do, HOW WOULD I BE? WHAT WOULD I DO?' - R. Buckminster Fuller The Buckminster Fuller Intitute reoprts that details for...

Buckminster Fuller has been a major mentor for me, ever since encountering his work in the early 70s and running away from home to spend a month at his intensive World Game Workshop. Bucky's Self-Disciplines offer a useful and powerful...

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Six Thinking Hats of Edward De Bono

Edward de Bono on creative thinking

"Dr Edward de Bono was a Rhodes Scholar has an M.D. and 2 Ph.D.’s, (philosophy & psychology). He held faculty appointments at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London and Harvard.

"Dr de Bono is considered the world’s leading authority in the field of creative and conceptual thinking and has spent his life traveling the world bringing his “new thinking” tools and methods to governments, organizations and people around the world who have applied his concepts to their specific situations." Professional thinking and learning processes



"The Six Thinking Hats technique of Edward de Bono is a model that can be used for exploring different perspectives towards a complex situation or challenge. Seeing things in various ways is often a good idea in strategy formation or complex decision-making processes.

"The STH technique is designed to help individuals deliberately adopt a variety of perspectives on a subject that may be very different from the one that they might most naturally assume. In wearing a particular thinking hat, people play roles, or "as if" themselves into a particular perspective. For instance, one could play the devil’s advocate, even if only for the sake of generating discussion. The purpose of devil’s advocacy is to deliberately challenge an idea: be critical, look for what is wrong with it.

"Each of the Hats is named for a color that is mnemonically descriptive of the perspective one adopts when wearing the particular hat. For example the devil’s advocacy is what one engages in when wearing the Black Thinking Hat.

"The 6 hats and the perspectives they represent are:

  * White (Observer) White paper; Neutral; focus on information available, objective FACTS, what is needed, how it can be obtained
  * Red (Self, Other) Fire, warmth; EMOTIONS, FEELINGS, intuition, hunches; present views without explanation, justification
  * Black (Self, Other) Stern judge wearing black robe; judgmental; critical; why something is wrong; LOGICAL NEGATIVE view.
  * Yellow (Self, Other) Sunshine; optimism; LOGICAL POSITIVE view; looks for benefits, what’s good.
  * Green (Self, Other) Vegetation; CREATIVE thinking; possibilities and hypotheses; new ideas
  * Blue (Observer) Sky; cool; overview; CONTROL of PROCESS, STEPS, OTHER HATS; chairperson, organizer; thinking about thinking

"De Bono’s hats are indicative of both emotional states as well as frames of mind (i.e., perspective from which an issue is viewed). He noted: 'Emotions are an essential part of our thinking ability and not just something extra that mucks up our thinking' (1985, p27). One thinking style (or hat) is not inherently 'better' than another. A full, balanced team recognizes the need for all hats in order for the team to consider all aspects of whatever issues they are facing.

"Main benefits of Six Thinking Hats method:

  1. Allow to say things without risk
  2. Create awareness that there are multiple perspectives on the issue at hand
  3. Convenient mechanism for 'switching gears'
  4. Rules for the game of thinking
  5. Focus thinking
  6. Lead to more creative thinking
  7. Improve communication
  8. Improve decision making 6 Thinking Hats - Bono de, Edward

Mind Map® Examples

"Six Thinking Hats is a great process for managing meetings. you will get an equal voice for all participants and con census on the actions.



"A summary of the process, a link to the book, an example of Six Thinking Hats in action and a downloadable MindManager template ave available here http://www.cabre.co.uk/sixthinkinghats.html"

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