36 min listen
CM 126: Hal Gregersen on Why Questions are the Answer
CM 126: Hal Gregersen on Why Questions are the Answer
ratings:
Length:
59 minutes
Released:
Feb 18, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
What if the secret to getting unstuck isn’t the right
answer, but the right question?
Hal Gregersen, author of the book, Questions are the Answer: A Breakthrough Approach to Your Most Vexing Problems at Work and in Life, came to this conclusion after interviewing over 200 high-impact leaders. Through these conversations, he learned they were asking a different kind of question, one he calls catalytic. In this interview, he explains that these kinds of questions “…challenge an assumption that is fundamentally false in a way that provides me and perhaps others around me energy and motivation to do something about it.”
Along the way, Hal’s found that these kinds of questions can
help us get unstuck in all aspects of our lives. For example, Hal shares the
story of a leader lamenting the distance he feels in his relationship with a
teenage daughter. After spending just four minutes on a catalytic questioning
activity called a “question burst,” this same leader made a starting
realization: “At the beginning of the conversation…I was so focused on how to
not lose her…But I was asking the wrong question. I really need to figure out
how to help her grow and flourish…[to] let her find her.”
Hal is the Executive Director of the MIT Leadership Center and a senior lecturer in leadership and innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He’s authored or co-authored ten books, including the bestseller, The Innovator’s DNA with Clay Christensen and Jeff Dyer.
Episode Links
Andreas Heinecke and Dialogue in the Dark
Using Catalytic Questioning to Solve Significant Problems by Hal Gregersen
Sociologist Amitai Etzioni
Debby Sterling and Goldieblox
More information on question bursts in this HBR article by Hal
The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson
Video clip of Ed Catmull explaining Pixar’s Brain Trust
Creative Clarity by Jon Kolko
Lior Div and Cybereason
Video clip of Jeff Wilke
Walt Bettinger
Marc Benioff
Bea Perez
Room 13
If you enjoy the podcast, here are three ways you can support the work we do. First, subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode. Second, tell a friend or family member, so you’ll always have someone to talk to about it. Third, rate and review the podcast wherever you subscribe, so you can help listeners find their next podcast.
You can learn more about Curious Minds Host and Creator, Gayle Allen @CuriousGayle and www.gayleallen.net.
answer, but the right question?
Hal Gregersen, author of the book, Questions are the Answer: A Breakthrough Approach to Your Most Vexing Problems at Work and in Life, came to this conclusion after interviewing over 200 high-impact leaders. Through these conversations, he learned they were asking a different kind of question, one he calls catalytic. In this interview, he explains that these kinds of questions “…challenge an assumption that is fundamentally false in a way that provides me and perhaps others around me energy and motivation to do something about it.”
Along the way, Hal’s found that these kinds of questions can
help us get unstuck in all aspects of our lives. For example, Hal shares the
story of a leader lamenting the distance he feels in his relationship with a
teenage daughter. After spending just four minutes on a catalytic questioning
activity called a “question burst,” this same leader made a starting
realization: “At the beginning of the conversation…I was so focused on how to
not lose her…But I was asking the wrong question. I really need to figure out
how to help her grow and flourish…[to] let her find her.”
Hal is the Executive Director of the MIT Leadership Center and a senior lecturer in leadership and innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He’s authored or co-authored ten books, including the bestseller, The Innovator’s DNA with Clay Christensen and Jeff Dyer.
Episode Links
Andreas Heinecke and Dialogue in the Dark
Using Catalytic Questioning to Solve Significant Problems by Hal Gregersen
Sociologist Amitai Etzioni
Debby Sterling and Goldieblox
More information on question bursts in this HBR article by Hal
The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson
Video clip of Ed Catmull explaining Pixar’s Brain Trust
Creative Clarity by Jon Kolko
Lior Div and Cybereason
Video clip of Jeff Wilke
Walt Bettinger
Marc Benioff
Bea Perez
Room 13
If you enjoy the podcast, here are three ways you can support the work we do. First, subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode. Second, tell a friend or family member, so you’ll always have someone to talk to about it. Third, rate and review the podcast wherever you subscribe, so you can help listeners find their next podcast.
You can learn more about Curious Minds Host and Creator, Gayle Allen @CuriousGayle and www.gayleallen.net.
Released:
Feb 18, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
CM 001: Seth Godin on How to Author a Life: Best-selling author Seth Godin discusses how to reimagine life and work in the post-industrial age. His books include Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and Purple Cow. In this interview, Seth talks about the liberating power of committing to a lifetime of pr... by Curious Minds at Work