Open questions. The answers to these questions can be formulated freely. Open
questions are also known as W-questions because they usually start with a question
word (Who, What, Where, When, Why, etc.). Again, an example: “What is your
impression of our new colleague?” This question encourages communication. It
calls for a longer response, usually results in more information and also expresses a
greater interest in the communication and thus in the conversation partner himself/
herself. On the other hand, open questions can overwhelm the other person or result
in embarrassment.
Alternative questions. To answer this type of question, there is a choice between
two alternatives. Example: “Should we meet with our new colleague this morning or
this afternoon?” With such questions the decision-making process is simplified and
accelerated, provided your conversation partner has a basically positive attitude
towards the process. If they have a negative attitude it can easily lead them to feel
they are being manipulated, which harms the relationship.
Rhetorical questions. These questions are asked without expecting any response.
Example: “How nice that we’ve found an efficient new colleague. Isn’t it?” This
question includes the conversation partner and prevents the impression that a
monologue is being held. On the other hand, your partner can feel they are being
made fun of because no real answer is expected.
Leading questions. These are not real questions, because they “feed” the other party
the desired answer. The questioner has already determined the response in advance,
quasi knowing everything, and will not listen to anything else. Example: “You also
find our new colleague very nice, don’t you?” These questions can be useful when it
comes to influencing others. But they do not promote open communication in order
to clarify facts or develop new ideas.
Circular questions. This type of question is often used in systemic consulting. The aim
is to gain new perspectives by asking creative questions. Example 1: Employee A is
asked how the boss responds when Employees B and C have their usual argument at
the monthly team meeting. Example 2: What does Employee A believe D thinks about
the dispute between Employees B and C?
Systemic leadership is heavily strongly on creative questions: we can also ask
paradoxical questions, such as: “Who would be interested in the project failing?” or
“What do we have to do in order to prevent the success of the project?” We can ask
“Assuming that...” questions like: “Assuming that Employee B sought to clarify
his work duties, would this help or harm the climate in the team?” In these cases
questions can help to develop exciting new scenarios that can become a breeding
ground for long sought-after solutions.
The person asking the questions leads the conversation. I like to repeat this
often-quoted maxim, because it is simply true. In a good employee interview, the
superior asks incisive questions and the employee answers them. The shares of
talking are distributed between manager and employee in the ratio 70–30%. Let me
illustrate this again using an example:
Let’s say it comes to a staff meeting on the subject of teamwork. The manager is
interested in whether an employee considers himself/herself to be a team player.
212 4 More Than Just Talking or: The Instruments of Systemic Leadership