Warren Berger, in his book A More Beautiful Question, pointed out that questioning without action is philosophy (Q – A = P). My approach is thus not only to nurture a practice of curiosity but equally to inspire tangible action. It is only when we add action into the equation by truly living into these questions that we bring innovation to our lives, businesses and societies.
These free self-paced programmes apply this same question-driven philosophy to personal and professional development. They offer a structure on which you can hang your own questions. In the words of Shane Parrish – the founder of the Knowledge Project, the purpose is thus to:
“…open a space in [our minds] that allow better answers to breathe.”
The late Peter Drucker rightly noted that leadership today is less about having all the answers and more about asking better questions. To fully embrace a question-led approach, we must first model it ourselves.
So, let’s start right away:
What benefits can I expect to see as a result of working through this programme?
Answer:
“If you truly embrace this work, you will foster a deep sense of curiosity about who you are as a person and as a leader and what you can do each day to become a more effective leader.”
I have the privilege of being part of an amazing community of practice that meets every two weeks with one purpose: “to support our development as coaches!”
In the process, we question many aspects of how we show up in the world. The accompanying content was developed to support this process and has served as inspiration and hopefully may inspire others.
A portion of the non-coaching specific content parallels the Curious Leaders programme, because at the end of the day, no matter our roles, it all starts with how we show up!
The Bigger Questions Project revolves around one key question: How might we empower more people to explore and embrace bigger questions?
Bigger questions are those thought-provoking questions that challenge our way of seeing the world. Such questions don’t even need to be expressed in words – we are continually faced with situations and experiences that are in themselves questions. Many of these questions don’t have ready answers and certainly don’t have one right answer. Rather than focus on seeking immediate answers, the invitation is to appreciate the process of questioning, exploration and discovery.
