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1-Page Summary of Humble Inquiry

Overview

You’re at work on a Monday, when your boss calls you into the office. He says that he’s noticed that your work is poor and thinks you’re approaching the problem incorrectly.

If you were in this situation, you would probably feel discouraged and upset. You might start to resent your boss as well.

Now imagine a different approach. Your boss asks you, “How’s it going with your work? Would you change anything?” With this subtle shift in the way he asks the question, he will get better results from his employees because they feel engaged instead of put down.

These key points show how to ask people questions instead of telling them what you think. This is important for anyone in a leadership position because it shows you’re listening and interested in their input.

In this passage, you’ll learn how to win a relay race, what to do when in the presence of someone who has won a Nobel Prize and why we shouldn’t shout at children.

Big Idea #1: If employees can’t freely express what they’re thinking, you can’t build a successful team.

When you think of a great team, what comes to mind? What about your favorite sports teams that have been so successful because they’ve worked together as a unit.

So what makes a good team? Is it having all the best players on the same team? Well, no. What really matters is how well they get along with each other. A great team is one that can communicate effectively with each other and tell each other anything without worrying about hurting their feelings.

“Go left!” “I’m open!” and “Great pass!”, the players communicate their opinions freely without fear.

Many business leaders admire the teamwork found in sports teams, but they are unable to emulate that teamwork because of communication barriers. Employees and managers often don’t share their concerns with each other out of fear that voicing them will reflect poorly on them. For example, would you feel comfortable telling your boss about a hole in the company’s strategy?

A lack of communication can lead to disastrous situations. For example, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was a result of poor communication among employees and management.

Business leaders, therefore, need to create an environment where employees can freely share their ideas.

It is easier said than done, however there are several key points that can help.

Big Idea #2: To build a good team, you need to ask questions that show trust and include and respect others.

Imagine you’re the boss of your department and, to build morale, challenge another department to a relay race. You’re off the mark first and yell “Stick out your left hand!” at an employee so you can pass her the baton. Unfortunately, she has a finger injury which causes her to drop the baton just as you slap it into her hand.

What could you have done differently? You should remember that your colleagues might be scared of disagreeing with you, so they’ll rely on humility. This means asking questions in a way that shows them their perspective matters and that they can trust you. Before the relay race, you could have easily asked your colleague, “In which hand should I place the baton?” instead of making a demand. In fact, it’s more than just a question-asking strategy; it’s an attitude. As the chair of a department composed of 15 professors, author once received a note from the dean about how much money was spent on phone calls by each professor. The author had three ways to solve this problem: get all professors together to go through the list collectively; go through it himself and call out those who were guilty individually; or send out lists to each professor and ask them how to fix this issue as well as why they made these calls in the first place.”