“He/she who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.” – African proverb
One of the first traits that nature bestows on us is the gnawing urge to ask questions. Research shows that toddlers ask an average of seventy to a hundred questions each day. This can be exhausting for their parents and the adults who interact with them. Scholars however connect positivity to this behaviour by telling us that questioning “allows the children to get targetted information exactly when they need it”. This nature-induced tendency allows children to make sense of the world around them. It is the reason Alison Gopnik, the American psychologist, asserted that “Babies and young children are like the research and development division of the human species”. Interestingly, all of us went through that phase.
This begs the question as to why many adults scarcely ask any questions – especially when we consider that adults know life is more mysterious than we can ever comprehend. This knowledge of mysteriousness at the least should inspire us to more questions, but it does not – and this is puzzling. Is it the adulthood pride whereby Adam Grant says, “Most people believe that great leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs and activists are distinguished by their ability to give compelling answers”; or as Richard Saul Wurman puts it, “In school, we’re rewarded for having the answer, not for asking a good question”. And so many of us who start off asking endless questions gradually reduce this tendency as the years pile up.
What many of us overlook is the fact that our Creator even demands that we ask questions. The famous quote of Christ – “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” – supports this assertion. From a rational vantage point, it makes complete sense to ask questions at every point in time to get the information and knowledge you need to proceed. Asking questions is an absolute necessity and a habit to cultivate if we desire to live meaningful and fulfilling lives.
At the least, we know that questioning has been at the heart of every discovery and progress we have made in our humanity. Our innovations have stemmed from the willingness on the part of some individuals to ask crazy questions. Our history shows that questioning ‘why’ and ‘why not’ have led to the creation of new opportunities and growth. Thus, it is disheartening that many adults in our society refuse to ask questions, and some even go the extra mile of discouraging their children from asking questions. Has our thirst and interest for knowledge sunk so low? Do we realise the self-harm we are inflicting by not asking questions?
Many leaders and employers are uncomfortable around employees who ask questions. It is time they realised such individuals are only demonstrating an interest in their jobs and exhibiting a curiosity that will empower them to come up with creative solutions for challenges to the business. The questions they ask help them understand the direction of the business, and shape how they work toward generating ideas for improvements in the processes within the work environment. Such employees are like children. They want to learn and understand why things happen, so that they can live up to expectations. They should thus be encouraged and, if possible, rewarded.
Asking questions is one trait we need to re-inculcate into our lives. It is the ‘Sankofa’ we need to revitalise our society, since questioning forces us to engage with challenges in ways those who believe in silence cannot even imagine. And as we ask more questions, we forge the ability to ask good questions which inspire us and others to think differently about what we see every day. This is the attitude required to generate the creativity we need for the sustainable solutions we desire for the challenges around us.
As adults and as leaders, let us learn from children and ask as many questions as we can. This will not only help us to dissolve barriers, but also force us to acknowledge what is most important in life; and that we do not know a lot of things. Peter Drucker, the renowned management guru, wisely warns us that: “The important and difficult job is never to find the right answers, it is to find the right question. For there are few things as useless, if not dangerous, as the right answer to the wrong question”. His words should inspire us to cultivate a deep respect for asking questions. As Scripture puts it, “Unless we become like little children, we cannot (flourish, prosper, etc.) enter the Kingdom of Heaven”.
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Kodwo Brumpon is a partner at Brumpon & Kobla Ltd., a forward-thinking Pan African management consultancy and social impact firm driven by data analytics, with a focus on understanding the extraordinary potential and needs of organisations and businesses to help them cultivate synergies that catapult them into their strategic growth and certifies their sustainability.
Comments, suggestions, and requests for talks and training should be sent to him at kodwo@brumponand kobla.com
