HBR On Leadership

The Best Leaders Ask the Right Questions


Listen Later

Few leaders have been trained to ask great questions. That might explain why they tend to be good at certain kinds of questions, and less effective at other kinds. Unfortunately, that hurts their ability to pursue strategic priorities. Arnaud Chevallier, strategy professor at IMD Business School, explains how leaders can break out of that rut and systematically ask five kinds of questions: investigative, speculative, productive, interpretive, and subjective. He shares real-life examples of how asking the right sort of question at a key time can unlock value and propel your organization. With his IMD colleagues Frédéric Dalsace and Jean-Louis Barsoux, Chevallier wrote the HBR article “The Art of Asking Smarter Questions.”

Key episode topics include: decision-making, problem solving, active listening, leadership strategic planning

  • Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Are You Asking the Right Questions?
  • Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast.
  • Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org.
  • ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    HBR On LeadershipBy Harvard Business Review

    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    141 ratings


    More shows like HBR On Leadership

    View all
    The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

    The McKinsey Podcast

    377 Listeners

    The Look & Sound of Leadership by Essential Communications - Tom Henschel

    The Look & Sound of Leadership

    1,164 Listeners

    Coaching for Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

    Coaching for Leaders

    1,450 Listeners

    HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

    HBR IdeaCast

    171 Listeners

    Cold Call by HBR Presents / Brian Kenny

    Cold Call

    196 Listeners

    Women at Work by Harvard Business Review

    Women at Work

    1,377 Listeners

    Dear HBR: by Harvard Business Review

    Dear HBR:

    746 Listeners

    Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

    Worklife with Adam Grant

    9,165 Listeners

    Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style by Laura Camacho

    Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style

    97 Listeners

    HBS Managing the Future of Work by Harvard Business School

    HBS Managing the Future of Work

    106 Listeners

    Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company

    Inside the Strategy Room

    173 Listeners

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

    795 Listeners

    A Bit of Optimism by Simon Sinek

    A Bit of Optimism

    2,181 Listeners

    Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

    Coaching Real Leaders

    669 Listeners

    ReThinking by TED

    ReThinking

    639 Listeners

    Fixable by TED

    Fixable

    219 Listeners

    HBR On Strategy by Harvard Business Review

    HBR On Strategy

    78 Listeners

    New Here by Harvard Business Review

    New Here

    82 Listeners