“Asking questions is the first way to begin change.” Kubra Sait

It’s not about my learning journey

Straight Circles was born from the idea that systems change is needed, and that we need to look at the challenges to get there from different perspectives. Something I still believe, and something I continue to work towards. And on this journey, there is one key insight I’ve come to realize: 

It’s not about my learning journey.

To achieve the change I, and many with me, believe is necessary, it’s not about me going out there telling people what’s needed, based on what I have learned or discovered. Not even when adding the why.

It’s about me creating a space for people to follow their own learning paths. And in my experience, posing the right questions is the most powerful tool for that.

Focusing thoughts

A training programme that opens up with a question on the topic to be discussed has achieved two things:

1. The participants’ minds have been directed to think about the topic at hand.
2. If the question is good, it has achieved an interest and willingness to learn – not just directing the thoughts towards the topic, but opening up the minds to actually learn. 

Another reason for using questions, is that people get to answer from the stage at which they are. This is often the case in coaching programmes: participants share about themselves, and based on questions taking the conversation further, the picture becomes clearer, often bringing in clarity in the process.

This links to a topic closely related to questions: active listening.

The art of listening

There may not be any stupid questions, but some are certainly better than others. The good ones are based on what the person speaking has just been sharing. They build on that flow, on that content, on whatever is going on. They are the product of active listening with an aim to understand the other person.

It’s not what we learn at school though, at least not in the countries I know well. Rather than asking the right questions, we are taught to produce answers. 

Can questions pave the way for positive change?

This is a question (😉) I’ve been considering a lot lately. My current answer to it would be yes, I think so. But not yes, I know so, because I still need to do some testing to verify this assumption.

Here’s my line of thinking:

I work with intelligent people, who all work towards making this world a better place. Emphasizing whichever aspects of such improvement they find to be the most important ones, and working from whichever toolbox they have. Could I really present something new (based on my priorities) that fits their toolbox? Or is the chance of them finding a way to fit in that aspect that I find so important greater if I ask questions that will lead their thinking towards creating space for it themselves?

Another reason why questions may prove more useful than facts: We all have our own beliefs and know what we know. That’s our starting point. ”It is difficult to learn, if you already know”, as I last heard Amy C Edmondson say in a video on the Inner Development Goals website. Questions may lead to us questioning the facts that we have taken for granted. And open up new space to fill with new insights.

Finally, talking or writing are active skills, whereas listening and reading are passive. To use active skills, in this case to answer a question, thinking is required. And in the end, all change starts from an idea. Thought of by someone.