How Skillful Questioning Can Help You Improve

About a year ago I learned how to create a website.  

I would not consider myself a tech-savvy person, but I needed to create one. I luckily had a lot of tech support, and I was willing to learn.  

Not unlike many people, when I learn a new skill or launch a new system, I always have a lot of questions.  

As I try to figure out the rules, I ask myself questions like “Am I doing this right?” Or “If I change this part of the process, how will it impact the whole?”  

This kind of curiosity stems from a sincere desire for improvement, whether it is a personal improvement or one that impacts a company. 

Questioning, in this context, can be very helpful. 

In other contexts, questioning it can be quite ineffective.  

Rather than allowing my questions to aid me, prompting me to be curious and learn from mistakes, overly critical or pessimistic questioning is unhelpful and counterproductive.  

Questions like “Is this going to be a total flop?” Or “What if I’m no good at this?” are not helpful. 

Knowing the difference between skillful questioning and corrosive questioning is important.   

Skillful questioning is when we ask questions that help gain clarity.  

Corrosive questioning stops our exploration. It weakens our enthusiasm and the curiosity that is essential to growth.  

Tone is also important.  

As my mother often told me in my teenage years, “It isn’t what you say, but how you say it.” 

Asking questions like, “How am I going to make this work?” can be unhelpful if it is asked in frustration. Asking this same question with curiosity is more likely to solve a problem or determine a solution.  

When we question a project or situation with sincerity and skill, we begin a quest of understanding and improvement.  

As you move through your day and your week, try to pay attention to how you question yourself and your work. Notice your tone. Use your internal questions to provoke curiosity and exploration.  

Growth will likely be the result.