You hear it a lot these days: leaders are talking more, but answering less. Instead, they’re asking questions—lots of them. For some, this feels strange. When you picture a manager or CEO, you might think of someone with all the answers, ready with quick solutions. But over the past decade, a growing number of leaders have discovered something simple that changes how teams work together: questions actually help more than answers.
Questions Make All the Difference
Let’s break it down. When leaders walk into a meeting and ask the team, “What do you think we should do?” it sparks a conversation. People lean in, consider new angles, and feel like their opinions matter. If a boss just says, “Here’s what we’re doing—any questions?” it usually ends things fast. You get agreement, but not much energy or new thinking.
That’s because questions invite people to think and pitch ideas. It’s not just about coming up with a right answer, but exploring what’s possible. Companies like Pixar and IDEO are famous for asking questions—even silly ones—to kickstart creativity on everything from animated movies to medical devices.
Making Space for Creativity
If you want your team to get creative or find new answers, questions open the door. It’s hard to brainstorm when the boss has decided the solution. But when a leader asks, “What if we tried something different?” or “Why does this process take so long?” it signals to everyone that original thinking is wanted.
Over time, a workplace where people are safe to question things gets more creative. It’s not about chaos or endless debate—good leaders know when to stop asking and pick a course. But until then, healthy questioning is where most breakthroughs start.
Building Trust With Honest Questions
Asking questions also builds trust. Think about your own experiences. When your manager asks for your thoughts on a tough problem—and seems to genuinely listen—you feel included. You start to believe your contribution matters, even if you don’t agree on everything.
Open questions, like “How do you see this working in practice?” or “What concerns should we be aware of?” show that the boss actually values input. This builds a kind of social glue in the team. People are more likely to speak up, spot risks, or catch mistakes before they become big problems.
Why It’s Good for Decision-Making
Leading with questions also spreads out decision-making. If only one person—usually the boss—calls all the plays, a team’s range is limited. But when you invite everyone’s thoughts, you tap into years of experience you might not have considered.
Say you’re launching a new product. If you only ask marketing for input, you might miss how sales or support teams see the world. But simple questions like “What are we missing?” or “Who else should we ask before deciding?” make space for more voices. It usually leads to fewer ugly surprises down the road.
Team Motivation Gets a Boost
People are a lot more engaged when they have a say. When leaders ask thoughtful questions, teams don’t just check out or nod along. Instead, they feel accountable and connected. They want to see the project succeed, partly because they had a hand in shaping it.
It sounds obvious, but being included is motivating. When two companies with similar resources compete, the team whose people are involved in decisions often comes out ahead. Folks put more energy into something they feel some ownership over.
How to Ask Better Questions as a Leader
It’s not just about asking more questions—it matters how you ask them. Open-ended questions work best. These can’t be answered with a yes or no. For example, “How might we improve our onboarding process?” is much better than “Do you like our onboarding process?”
Closed questions are fine for getting quick facts, but they don’t invite much discussion. Even small adjustments, like starting with “What else?” or “Tell me about…” can kick off richer conversations.
You can also get the habit rolling by encouraging your team to ask questions. Some leaders ask, “Who’s got a question?” at the end of meetings. Others set time aside every week for Q&A, or keep a shared online doc for team questions.
Simple examples of great leadership questions include:
– “What are our assumptions here?”
– “What would success look like?”
– “Where could this plan fall apart?”
– “What have we learned from past projects like this?”
The goal isn’t to interrogate, just to open things up.
When Questions Get Tricky
Of course, not everyone is used to a leader who asks so many questions. Some employees might worry they’ll look unprepared. Others may think the boss just doesn’t know what to do. Early on, you may get blank stares or silence. That’s normal.
The trick is to create a safe space for questioning. If you jump down someone’s throat when they raise tough issues, people go quiet. If, instead, you thank people for challenging ideas—even if you disagree—the team gets braver about speaking up.
And sometimes, the questions you ask won’t give instant answers. That can frustrate people, especially when time feels tight. But it’s OK to sit in the uncertainty for a bit. You can say things like, “We may not know the answer yet, but let’s see what we learn.”
Stories From Real Leaders Who Lead With Questions
There are plenty of leaders who have found success this way. Ed Catmull, cofounder of Pixar, is well-known for his approach. At Pixar, directors and producers meet regularly in what they call “Braintrusts”—sessions where no one has all the answers, but everyone asks questions. Catmull credits this process with catching story problems early and helping teams solve them together.
Another example is A.G. Lafley, the former CEO of Procter & Gamble. Early in his time as CEO, he started meetings by simply asking, “What business are we really in?” That question sparked new thinking about P&G’s real competitors and led to smarter strategy down the line.
At the design firm IDEO, questions are the daily norm. When they work with clients, they lead with “How might we…” and “What if…” instead of jumping to solutions. Staff are expected to ask each other hard questions and are rewarded for it.
How to Shift Toward Question-Led Leadership
Moving from always giving answers to asking questions takes some getting used to. Start small. Next time you’re about to jump in with a solution, pause and say, “I’m curious—how would you approach this?” or “What options do we see here?”
If your team is new to this, explain why you’re doing it. You can say, “I want us to get better at solving problems together, not just relying on me for answers.”
Try making space for questions in every meeting. Maybe you reserve the last ten minutes for open discussion. You can also highlight and praise team members who raise good questions, not just those who share good answers.
And yes, creating a question-friendly culture isn’t just a leadership skill—it’s a whole team habit. That means encouraging people at all levels to learn from each other. In some workplaces, this shift even includes regular workshops or sharing outside resources, like business advice columns or sites such as marathit.net, to keep the conversation going.
Wrapping Up: The Long Game With Questions
So, does leading with questions always mean you have zero answers? Not at all. Sometimes you’ll still need to make a tough call or set direction. But teams work best when questions come first, not last.
By asking questions, you invite more brainpower into the mix. You also avoid blind spots, boost morale, and usually get better decisions. Sure, it can feel uncomfortable at first—especially if you’re used to always having a plan in your back pocket.
But the leaders who stick with it often find their teams become more creative, more motivated, and, honestly, a lot more fun to work with. It’s a small shift with a surprisingly big impact. And you don’t have to be the CEO to start—anyone can shape their team’s culture by simply asking a better question.