Extract from Sam Bock’s article “The Art of Asking Better Questions in a Data-Driven Workplace”
Workplace collaboration is always complex. When strategies need to be formulated and opinions are loud and disparate, it certainly helps to use data as a guide. So, today, decisions often hinge on dashboards. Tactics are guided by metrics.
Still, even with all the numbers in the world to advise us, there’s no replacement for human discernment. An honest, productive conversation will always yield better outcomes than any pivot table can alone.
Good conversation—the kind you study while in pursuit of a liberal arts or law degree—is an exercise in humility. It isn’t about being right. It’s not about having all the answers (or anticipating them!). It’s not about winning an argument or swaying a room. It’s about asking the kinds of questions that build understanding, reward curiosity, and spark creativity. That’s the art of asking well.
Opening this dialogue to complement any data digs can help protect your team and clients against confirmation bias, facilitate more accurate and productive outcomes, and get a project started on the right foot—preventing rework and regression down the road.
Against this backdrop, you can see how setting a personal goal to ask more questions is an admirable idea. But I can hear you wondering: “Sam, how do I ask more questions without being a pest or looking like a fool?”
Excellent start, my friend. Let’s talk about it.
