When in doubt, leaders should ask questions
Inquisitive leaders receive something even better than a good answer: a bump in credibility.
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
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