Question everything (PWW #5)

This week I want to take a deep-dive into one of the most important skills for a product manager: asking questions.

This sounds obvious right? Of course you need to ask questions! So why do I still see so many product managers struggle to ask the right questions?

Now I could start a philosophical discussion about how our education system actually does not teach us critical thinking... But let's stick to the work environment, since that is where we spend much of our time.

How often do you actually see people asking critical questions in a meeting? And how often do you find yourself asking the tough questions? I'm willing to bet for the majority of people the answer is 'rarely, if ever'.

This week I want to dive deeper into why it's so important to ask good questions, why so many people don't do it, and how you can become a better product manager by actually asking the right questions.

Have a great day 👋

Wouter

🦸‍♀️ Asking questions is a super-power

Let's start from the top. Why is it so important to ask questions? In its essence asking questions is a manifestation of curiosity. Curiosity is defined as "a strong desire to know or learn something." This is why young children will continuously ask you questions: they have a deep desire to learn about the world around them.

The same thing applies in your work. If you have a true desire to understand something or learn something new, you will ask questions. And of course as a product manager, it's basically your job to continuously learn about the environment you're in.

I am sure you have had experiences where you were extremely interested to learn about something, and launched a ton of questions to another person. How did you feel in that moment? Did you feel like you were exploring something new, finding exciting twists and turns with each follow-up question? That's curiosity in action.

Curiosity can be your super-power!

Being curious will help you understand something on a much deeper level. You will discover new information that challenges your previously held beliefs. And it will help you create entirely new ways of looking at the world.

On a more down-to-earth note: the simple act of asking questions can actually create stronger bonds between humans. And it can also help the person across from you consider things from a different perspective.

😬 Asking questions is scary

This is true for a lot of people. You can see this in action in large group meetings or large events. Whenever it's time for Q&A only a very small fraction of the participants will actually stand up and ask a question.

I'm sure you have encountered this yourself in a meeting you've hosted. At the end you will ask "does anyone have any questions?". That question often meets silence, or perhaps some people shaking their heads 'no'.

A rather anti-climactic end to a presentation right?

But why are people afraid of asking questions?

😱 #1 The fear of looking stupid

This is a very real and powerful fear. No one wants to come across as dumb. When you look around and it seems everyone else understood everything perfectly, why would you raise your hand? Wouldn't that make you the dumbest person in the room?

The answer is of course no! But this fear is preventing many people from asking the questions that they have.

But by not asking questions they are shooting themselves in the foot. It's a lost opportunity for learning.

And even worse: if you did not understand what was said, chances are many others also did not understand. But if everyone is afraid to raise their hand, the whole group misses an opportunity to learn something new.

Mark Twain said it best:

"He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever"

👎 #2 Asking questions is not encouraged

This is a super common culture in companies. And it starts at the very top.

Too many senior leaders don't make their employees feel okay about asking (critical) questions. They might get defensive when being questioned. Or they might pull rank and say stuff like "we're doing this because I say so".

Combine that with the inherent power imbalance between a CEO and an employee and you have the perfect recipe for people becoming sheep and blindly following.

So it's clear that most leaders say they want to encourage curiosity, but fail to actually create an environment where people feel safe to do so.

There is a great article by Julie Pham, PhD outlining some strategies for leaders to foster curiosity.

A lot of it comes down to keeping your ego in check. As a leader (but this goes for a product manager just as much) you need to be able to admit you don't know something, or were wrong about something. Seems pretty basic but very few leaders actually get this right.

And equally as important: understand that by virtue of your role, your words will be interpreted differently. Even if you think you are asking a basic question like "why don't we have feature X in our app?" it can be misconstrued as marching orders by others.

I'm writing about leaders, but I see product manager as leaders too. In practice you will have a leading role within your team(s) even if you don't have direct reports. So it really is worthwhile looking into ways to embrace curiosity.

🧐 Asking questions makes you a better product manager

I hope by now you understand the problems with not being curious and asking questions. Now let's see how you can leverage the power of curiosity as a product manager.

Let's look at this from 3 perspectives.

#1 How curiosity can help your team

• Understanding context: Instead of taking requests at face value: encourage your team to ask questions, explore and completely understand the context before diving into design or code
• Get to the root cause: In internal team discussions it is extremely helpful if people ask questions to get to the root of a topic or issue. If you encourage this it will help your team become more self-reliant, instead of needing a "moderator" (like most Scrum Masters tend to operate) to ask the questions and get a discussion going.
• Collaborative environment: A culture that values curiosity and questioning encourages truly open communication between team members. This can break down silos, increase knowledge sharing, and create a more collaborative environment where everyone feels like a valued contributor.
• Increased agility: Teams that regularly question and critically evaluate their work are better equipped to adapt to changes. This mindset encourages agility, making it easier to pivot in response to new information or unexpected challenges.

#2 How curiosity can help your stakeholders

• Stakeholders feel heard: When you are curious and dive deep into the world of your stakeholders, they will feel better understood and taken seriously. It is extremely powerful to ask questions and listen, and let them tell you about their world.
• Exploration together: Asking the right questions can help your stakeholders become more curious themselves. They might have taken over assumptions from others which - when challenged by you - can turn into an exploration that brings you close to the actual facts.
• Increased transparency: Encouraging questions and open communication with stakeholders leads to greater transparency about project progress, challenges, and decisions. For stakeholders, this transparency fosters trust and confidence in the team's ability to deliver.

#3 How curiosity can help you

• Become a subject-matter expert: By deep diving into a specific problem, market segment, etc. you will gain a lot of knowledge and expertise in a short amount of time. This can help you become a subject-matter expert within your company on the market you are serving.
• Be a force for good: Being curious and open-minded will set an example in your organisation. People will start to recognise you for adding value and always striving for the best possible outcome. This can be an extremely powerful force for good. A rising tide lifts all boats.
• Find and solve actual problems: You can find root-causes for problems, instead of staying at the surface. Instead of doing busy-work building superficial things you really make a difference. There are plenty of PM's that just copy whatever a competitor offers and think that is a winning strategy. But you can actually uncover real customer problems and fix them. Gaining a huge competitive advantage in the market.
• You know what you're talking about: In discussions with stakeholders or management it will become crystal clear you actually understand what you're talking about. You start to live your product and customers, probably more than anyone else in the organisation.

Is there a question or topic you have always wanted to dive into, but never found the time? Schedule 30 minutes to an hour somewhere today, turn off your notifications, and dive in!

Let me know how you faired! And if you don't know where to start: I'm happy to help you think of a way.

⚡️ Lightning round

If you want to dive a bit deeper into curiosity and asking questions I have some interesting reads for you:

The Business Case for Curiosity

Although leaders might say they value inquisitive minds, in reality most stifle curiosity, fearing it will increase risk and inefficiency. Harvard Business School’s Francesca Gino elaborates on the benefits of and common barriers to curiosity in the workplace and offers five strategies for bolstering it. Leaders should hire for curiosity, model inquisitiveness, emphasize learning goals, let workers explore and broaden their interests, and have “Why?” “What if…?” and “How might we…?” days. Doing so will help their organizations adapt to uncertain market conditions and external pressures and boost the business’s success. The Five Dimensions of Curiosity Psychologists have come to realize that curiosity is not a monolithic trait. George Mason University’s Todd B. Kashdan, David J. Disabato, and Fallon R. Goodman, along with linguist and educational scientist Carl Naughton, break it down into five distinct dimensions: deprivation sensitivity, joyous exploration, social curiosity, stress tolerance, and thrill seeking. They explore which dimensions lead to the best outcomes and generate particular benefits in work and life. From Curious to Competent The executive search firm Egon Zehnder has found that executives with extraordinary curiosity are usually able, with the right development, to advance to C-level roles. But that development is critical: Without it, a highly curious executive may score much lower on competence than less curious counterparts. Egon Zehnder’s Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, Andrew Roscoe, and Kentaro Aramaki describe the types of stretch assignments, job rotations, and other experiences needed to transform curiosity into competence. The complete Spotlight package is available in a single reprint.

Harvard Business ReviewFrancesca Gino

8 Reasons Why People are Afraid to Ask Questions at Work

I was facilitating an orientation for a group of 20 cohort members when one of them used a word I didn’t understand. I nodded like I knew, so did others, and on the inside, I felt a deep shame.

Julie Pham, PhD

Embracing Curiosity: The Power of Asking Questions

Embracing Curiosity: The Power of Asking Questions Throughout my journey as a student and a professional, the wise words of William Arthur Ward have always resonated with me: “Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.” Embracing curiosity and the art of asking questions has become my guiding

Asim Khaliq

7 ways team leaders can practice curiosity

Check out my TLDR video version of “7 Ways Team Leaders Can Practice Curiosity at Work” I liken practicing curiosity to meditation – it looks easy, but it’s really hard. There are some days it’s easier to practice curiosity than other days.

Julie Pham, PhD