Question to Learn by Joe Lalley is about the art of going from not knowing to knowing. Lalley walks through the practices of how curiosity can transform your career, team, and organization.

What I Liked About Question to Learn by Joe Lalley

Question to Learn made me think about what curiosity really was and how leaders easily kill it through their behavior and misunderstanding of its importance. Lalley explains how judgment questions, which aren’t really questions at all, are really critiques or accusations rather than a genuine desire to learn. For example, “You’re not going to wear that, are you?” is really letting the person know you don’t approve of their choice.

Something we’ve all experienced is the senior leader who pretends to know everything. Team members always defer to that individual and assume the leader really knows the answer, and then they don’t ask questions even if they have them. The expert ends up suppressing curiosity.

One of my favorite chapters was Chapter 8, where Lalley talks about solutions in search of problems. We’ve all been there, where teams don’t know what the real problem is but they jump into solution mode, which Lalley says backs them into a problem. He explains, “They build it, launch it, only to find out it solves a problem no one had.” His example is the New Coke blunder.

What You’ll Like About Question to Learn

Chapter 15 is one of the best. If you’re really interested in knowing how different questions can affect the type of information you want to discover, this is the chapter for you. You’ll learn to recognize when someone is using hero questions, power move questions, leading questions, and selfie questions as well as how badly timed and unspoken questions can affect good decision making.

If you’re interested in creating a curiosity environment, you’ll find Chapter 16 helpful as Lalley explains the use of question storming. It’s like brainstorming, but the goal isn’t to get solutions. The goal is to generate questions that will lead you to better problem-solving.

Finally, he outlines the use of what he calls the Five Lenses that can help move a team beyond the obvious answer. He also illustrates how powerful it is to use the “How might we …?” question to find solutions that have action, emphasize experimentation and curiosity, and foster shared ownership of the problem.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book, and I encourage others to read it. The first few chapters may make you want to dismiss this book as just another rehash of what you already know about the importance of questions. Don’t stop reading. Everything takes off in Chapter 5 and from that point on, it’s full of useful information that, with a little work and diligence on your part, can make a positive difference for you and those you lead.

There are a few off-color words but nothing that is overtly offensive.

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