5 Powerful Questions the Best Leaders Need to Know and Ask Themselves

How self awareness leads to success.

Anthropologist Claude-Levi Strauss said, “The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions.” In our modern society, we are obsessed with knowledge. We ask voice assistants and search engines to get instant answers for our questions.

We have the majority of human knowledge right in our pocket. The ability to ask the right questions at the right time defines being skilled at research and investigation. The skill of inquiry is valuable. It can be applied to any business, product, process or area of study and yield significant outcomes.

Andy Stanley says, “Great leaders ask great questions.”

This should be of no surprise. Leaders are learners and they need to understand their environment. One of the most dynamic aspects of asking questions is there ability to help you become aware of your own identity and character.

To lead others well, you must lead yourself well. To lead yourself well you must ask hard questions. Questions that pinpoint your motivations and fears. Questions that help you align your heart with your purpose.

Because leadership ability comes mostly from experience, it is important to know what kind of questions the best leaders ask themselves. Understanding these questions can provide valuable insights and vital lessons.

With that in mind here are five questions thoughtful leaders ask themselves.

Am I doing the right thing in this moment?

Before you wonder, “Am I doing things right?” wonder “Am I doing the right things?” — Stephen Covey

As a leader, you have many decisions to make. It is easy to be swept up in the whirlwind of events that are taking place. Because of this, you can overlook what you are doing and lose sight of what is best for everyone to be successful.

The result of this is making poor choices at the wrong times.

As the leader of the team, you are in charge of making important decisions. Who gets hired? Who gets fired? What is our strategy? How will we operate? What resources do we need to achieve our goals?

These decisions will have a direct effect on the productivity of everyone. In each moment, you need clear and deliberate thinking so that your decision making is grounded in the reality of the situation as it exists right now.

What can I learn from major events that take place?

“An organizations ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage.” — Jack Welch

Advancement and development of yourself and your team is the benchmark of great leadership. There are lessons to be learned from every significant event that takes place.

Whether you came up short on one of your goals, launched a product that failed, or had a marketing campaign that missed the mark, you should continuously ask yourself, “What can I learn from this situation?”

Learning to embrace the chaos that happens as events occur is part of moving forward and making progress. If you can effectively deal with the messy part of change, you will be in a better position to learn from your mistakes and move ahead to a positive outcome.

Am I using my time wisely?

“Lost time is never found again.” — -Benjamin Franklin

The most important job of a leader is to set the example of how you want your team to perform and conduct themselves. A leader must be consistent and execute tasks at a high level so that you motivate and inspire others to be better at what they do.

The ability to sustain this level of focus can be difficult. By asking yourself, “Is what I am doing right now essential to reach our objectives?” and “Is this activity serving me well?” will help you to eliminate distractions.

By eliminating distractions, you will be able to to squeeze many more productive moments out of your day.

Am I supporting my team?

“Real strength entails being considerate and supportive of other peoples feelings.” — Mary Kay Ash

When you are trying to achieve something worthwhile, there will setbacks and mistakes along with success and positive results. As your team progresses through each stage of their development, they will experience doubts, fears and anxiety about the future.

It is critical that a leader ask the question, “Am I giving my team the courage they need to overcome their concerns and move forward with the task at hand regardless of the outcome?”

It is essential that a helpful leader be there supporting the team at every step they take together.

A first-rate leader should be present with their team not only in meetings, but also keep a watchful eye on how they perform. A great leader will go to the place where team members are doing their work and without interfering, ask questions and be a sounding board for ideas.

By spending time with your team you will be able to understand who they are as people and find out what drives them to be successful.

Am I making people better?

“Be around people that want to make you a better person, who make you feel good, make you laugh, and remind you whats important in life.” — Germany Kent

Leadership is about making others better. If you can develop people to reach their fullest potential, you are on your way to becoming and exceptional leader.

Great leaders see strengths and qualities in people that they don’t see in themselves and activate those attributes into measurable steps for each individuals own further growth and development.

The questions you should be asking is, “When someone walks away from me, have I helped them reach more of their potential?”

Making people better is about serving people in a way that helps them cultivate more wisdom, courage, resilience, and faith in what they can achieve and who they will become.

Exceptional leaders know they don’t have all of the answers, but need to know how to ask the right questions. They recognize that asking good questions at the right time is at the heart of getting the best answers and solving tough problems.

A great leader can set their own ego aside and ask themselves the right questions at the proper moment to get every team members input on how to resolve challenging issues.

Reflect for a minute on your leadership style. Are you prepared to honestly ask yourself the proper questions to get the most out of yourself and your team?

Doing so can help you lead effectively today and into the future.

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