Ask Questions Before Making Recommendations

 

Fostering a culture of asking questions before prescribing solutions can create a competitive advantage.

Research shows that decision-makers frequently jump to conclusions based on incomplete data. Prompting individuals to explore alternative explanations significantly increases accuracy (Milkman, Chugh, & Bazerman, 2009). Asking questions before offering an opinion is an evidence-supported technique for improving business decision quality. When leaders ask clarifying questions prior to making recommendations, they collect more diagnostic information and reduce confirmation bias (Nickerson, 1998).

In team settings, leaders asking questions prior to providing opinions also improves the quality of decisions by reducing conformity pressures, anchoring bias, and groupthink. When leaders withhold initial recommendations, team members are more likely to share dissenting perspectives or unique knowledge. Theoretically, teams generate more accurate judgments when leaders speak last, rather than first, because early anchoring effects can disproportionately shape group outcomes (Kahneman, 2011). Leaders asking open-ended questions enhances information sharing, reduces the fear of interpersonal risk-taking, and improves organizational learning and innovation (Edmondson, 1999).

Finally, asking questions before offering recommendations encourages a learning culture. Through the aforementioned effects, inquiry-driven organizations adapt more quickly, detect errors more readily, and make corrections with greater efficacy (Argyris & Schön, 1996; Garvin, 1993).

References

  • Argyris, C., & Schön, D. Organizational Learning II: Theory, Method, and Practice. Addison-Wesley: 1996.

  • Edmondson, A. Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1999; 44:350–383.

  • Garvin, D. Building a learning organization. Harvard Business Review, 1993; July-August.

  • Kahneman, D. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 2013.

  • Milkman, K., Chugh, D., & Bazerman, M. How can decision making be improved? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2009; 4:379–383.

  • Nickerson, R. Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 1998; 2:175–220.




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