Proposal for a questionnaire.
The research question is crucial for the research result. All scientists know this. The art of asking good questions is also important in the management of companies and organizations. This applies to management as well as to the supervisory board and the owner representatives. Whoever asks leads. If you want to lead well, you have to ask good questions. First yourself, and then others.
Questioning also means that we want to listen. We are interested in an answer. Listening means that we ourselves remain silent, also internally. This requires a conscious decision; managers in particular tend to speak first and thus draw attention to themselves. Conscious listening requires attention. You can train to listen. The older we get, the more training we need so that we don’t always talk ourselves.
Asking questions has a long tradition. Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, used his questions to get his interlocutors to think for themselves. In the Hebrew Bible, God’s first question is: Where are you, Adam?[1] Jesus asks over 300 questions in the Gospels. Rainer Maria Rilke teaches us to love the questions[2]. Elie Wiesel writes that the question has a power that the answer no longer has[3]. Max Frisch wrote numerous questionnaires in his diaries that are particularly worth reading for managers[4].
[1] Genesis 3:9
[2] Rainer Maria Rilke: Letters to a young poet.
[3] Elie Wiesel: Night.
[4] Max Frisch: Questionnaire.
Below are some questions for managers.
It’s a good exercise to write down your most important questions for yourself.
Who or what gives me hope in difficult times?
Can I give other people hope? How?
What stories of hope do I tell?
Do I know my behavior patterns and mental models?
What reassures me, what annoys me, what offends me?
How do I deal with mistakes, my own and others‘?
Am I a generous person?
Can I laugh at others and myself?
How long term do I want to think?
How many days do I have left to live, based on average life expectancy?
What do I use my lifetime for?
What will remain of my life?
Can I interrupt my daily work routine to reflect?
Can I endure silence and being alone?
From whom did I learn to think for myself?
Can I refrain from judging?
Can I understand other people’s perspectives?
Can I think beyond my own immediate interests?
How do I differentiate between values and interests in myself?
Do I personally know poor, sick or disabled people?
How do I react if I am made an “immoral offer”?
How can I resist attractive offers that threaten my integrity?
When am I susceptible to flattery?
Am I vain and therefore susceptible to manipulation by others?
Can I deal with complex situations?
Can I tolerate unclear situations?
Do I have a sense of history – regional, national, international?
Am I familiar with thinking in scenarios?
Can I find scope for action when nothing seems to be possible anymore?
Can I trust other people?
What do I hold on to when everything shakes?
What are my most important sources of meaning in life and endurance?
Who are inspiring people in my life?
Who do I answer to when it comes to response-ability?
Who may tell me the truth?
Who are my advisors?
What is my definition of “friend”?
Who are my friends, outside of family?
How can I say no well?
Who can I learn this from?
What is easier for me: saying yes or saying no?
In which situations will I object, even if it brings me disadvantages?
Where do I want to grow?
In which area do I want a broader horizon?
Are there patterns in my life that I would like to change?
How can I avoid being a superficial person?