What Questions Reveal About a Leader’s Mindset

In this Wharton Leadership Digest article, Marilee Adams (American University) distinguishes between “judger” and “learner” questions and says they make a significant difference to the quality of a meeting. Here are some judger questions:

• Who is to blame? Why can’t they perform?
• How can I prove I’m right?
• How can I protect my turf?
• Why aren’t we winning?
• What could we lose?
• Why bother?

And here are some learner questions:

• What are my goals? What am I responsible for?
• What are the facts and what am I assuming?
• How can I help?
• What do our stakeholders want?
• What steps can we take to improve the situation?
• What’s possible?

“Teams that operate with a Learner mindset are more productive, motivated, and engaged,” says Adams. By changing the questions we ask, we focus on achieving goals in specific areas, change the tone of meetings, and produce markedly better results. 

“Shifting Mindsets: Questions That Lead to Results” by Marilee Adams in Wharton Leadership Digest, October 16, 2012, 

From the Marshall Memo #457