Right now, leaders at all levels are being bombarded with questions about big and small problems. Every leader I know feels pressed to come up with the right answers and the right solutions. Furthermore, they feel pushed by limited time, energy, and resources to get it right. They also don’t want to make any short or long term mistakes, strategically or operationally. As a result, they are deeply worried, sometimes afraid, and often overwhelmed with anxiety.
When we visit, they share with me that everything and everyone feels out of control. They also see very little, if any, predictability moving forward. As I listen to the depth of what they are experiencing, I am reminded of a quote by Mr. Rogers: “In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.”
This perspective is not easy for many leaders to accept, because their journey through the land of leadership was based on their ability to fix things and provide the right answers. They rarely were promoted for asking the right questions. Nevertheless, the best and experienced leaders know that questions are just as important as answers.
So, in these moments when people are struggling, I routinely ask the following question: “What questions do you have for me today?” While this question surprises many young leaders, they often respond to my question with “I have a ton of questions.” And then, we begin.
Given their many questions, I choose to respond with curiosity rather than judgment. I also respond with openness and a willingness to think collectively about the answer. But in the beginning, we often discuss why and where their question is coming from. It does not surprise me that many people believe they should always have the answer, and do not feel like they have permission to ask a question. And when they are given permission, they do not want to ask a dumb question. But as their executive coach, I assure them that having questions is normal and important.
This choice to ask and to listen carefully to a question requires us both to be present to facts and feelings. We also have to respect the dignity of our individual and collective experiences. It invites us to not seek, or to try and create a perfect or permanent answer. Instead, together we strive to find an understanding, a touch stone, or a well spring from which to draw upon as we face the challenges and the questions before us.
As American entrepreneur and author, Gary Keller notes: “Life is a question and how we live it is our answer.” And the work of an executive coach is to help people live into the answers. Poet Rainer Maria Rilke understood this as well when he wrote: “Live your questions now, and perhaps without knowing it you will live along some distant day into your answers.” With the creation of safe spaces to ask questions, support, and perspective, we can live a life where questions are as important answers. We also can give ourselves permission to keep asking questions even when they are challenging and complex.
This week, remember the wise counsel of Deepak Chopra: “If you live the questions, life will move you into the answers.”
© Geery Howe 2026
No comments:
Post a Comment