When in doubt, leaders should ask questions

THE mainstream language of leadership is geared toward deciding and affirming rather than questioning. Yet my recent research finds that - contrary to popular belief - leaders who routinely ask questions become more credible in their roles.

Most leaders believe the opposite. They think their questions betray a lack of knowledge that could raise doubts about their competence. While not always untrue, that is only part of a more complex picture, as my co-author Irina Cojuhrenco of the University of Surrey and I explain in a forthcoming paper in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

Why leaders don't ask questions