“The important thing is not to stop questioning.”~Albert Einstein
I would have liked to have met Albert Einstein. I think he’s cool. And not just because of his hair.
I love that he was such a brilliant man, and yet when he was a child teachers thought he was stupid because he was so bad at math. He was probably just bored. I love that with his brilliance he took us places that most of us can’t even fathom. And I love that he thought that questions were the most important part.
When we stop questioning, we take things for granted. When we stop questioning, we accept the status quo. Sometimes the status quo needs to be changed. When we stop questioning, we lose our curiosity. When we stop questioning, we run the risk of never having another brainstorm, another idea out of nowhere, another perspective that opens our eyes.
People get thrown into jail for questioning authority. They may lose their jobs for questioning their boss. Kids get punished for questioning their parents. And yet we need to keep questioning. Maybe we just have to find the best ways to question.
If we are going to lead Thoughtfully we have to be willing to question and be questioned. We should challenge our team members to question us. Invite their curiosity and their different point of view. We need to not be sure we have the answer, so that we can be open to what we’ve missed and what we don’t even know that we don’t know.
How have questions helped you?
Please leave a comment.
If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
For support in questioning more, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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