Questions, questions, questions!
20th April 2023 | Claudia Filsinger
How and why we ask questions is important.
The twins of curiosity and ignorance
Dr Marlys Witte is “a surgeon without hands”1, a researcher and educator of medical students and the self-proclaimed mother of the “medical ignorance” movement. She has not just adopted the Socratic method of educating through questions; her medical education model also develops the capability to be curious and to work with the benefit of ignorance through asking effective questions.
As managers develop into leaders, one of their mindset shifts is to balance “Tell” and “Ask” modes of operating. This means asking effective questions to lead through dynamic and highly complex challenges while building and realising their vision, sustaining performance and resilience, and achieving required outcomes.
The ignorance paradox
Dr Witte developed an “ignorance map” which makes use of the so-called ignorance paradox: the more you know, the more you don’t know. This map is also useful for leaders who want to use their curiosity and ignorance in a beneficial way:
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