The Leadership Power of One More Question

One of the quickest ways to limit a team's growth is to answer every question they ask.

I’ve been reflecting on curiosity lately, not as a personality trait, but as a leadership choice.

It’s easy to think that being a good leader means having the answers and its something that I've noticed many new leaders wrestle with. After all, people come to leaders for certainty, advice and direction.

But I’m starting to wonder whether our instinct to solve problems too quickly can actually get in the way.

Every time we jump in with the answer, we remove an opportunity for someone else to think. We might solve today’s problem, but we don’t necessarily build tomorrow’s capability.

The leaders I’ve admired most have done something different. When faced with a challenge, they pause.

They ask things like:

- “Talk me through your thinking.”

- “What are we basing that on?”

- “What haven't we considered yet?”

Not because they don’t have an opinion, but because they know that better questions often lead to better thinking. Over time, those conversations change a team. People stop waiting to be told what to do and start bringing ideas, evidence and professional judgement to the table. Curiosity becomes part of the culture, not just a characteristic of the leader.

For me, that’s one of the most underrated ways to build leadership capacity in a school. It’s not about creating dependence on the person with the title. It’s about creating the conditions for everyone to think more deeply and contribute more confidently. Of course, curiosity isn't about avoiding decisions. Outstanding leaders know when another question will deepen thinking and when it's time to provide advice or support. I think the skill is recognising the difference.

I’m trying to catch myself before offering the solution and ask one more question instead. More often than not, the conversation ends up somewhere better than the answer I was about to give.

I'm still learning this myself. If you've had a leader whose questions made you think differently, I'd love to hear them in the comment section.