Effective leadership is a mix of skills, and it's important to seek feedback, share information and admit when you're wrong.

As a business leader, you pride yourself on your knowledge, skills and your ability to know and understand all aspects of your business. Your peers and your employees naturally assume that you are proficient and knowledgeable. So, if you actually want to learn new things or you ask too many questions, are you actually diminishing your effectiveness? Or are you chipping away at their assumption of your expertise and skills? Can your learning mentality actually diminish your stature in the eyes of your employees? Which begs the questions – Is it possible for you to be a good leader as well as a good learner?

A learning mentality is a valuable trait for personal and professional growth. However, there are times it can actually be a liability.  As a good leader, you want to understand what your employees are thinking or why they want to take certain actions, so you ask questions. While your intentions are to understand and learn, asking too many questions can be interpreted as a weakness or even a lack of leadership skills and knowledge. Therefore, a carefully balanced approach is best. Good leadership is a mix of skills, and it is important that you seek feedback, share information and even admit when you are wrong. These traits will help to prevent misconceptions about your inquisitive behavior. There are many ways in which you asking questions can be misunderstood or misinterpreted including:

• Decreased effectiveness as a leader – when you ask too many questions it can be perceived that you lack skills or knowledge. This can lead to employees feeling like they are being judged, or that you don’t value their opinions, and they can become defensive instead of being collaborative.
• Perceived lack of confidence – Even well-intentioned questions can lead to the perception that you lack expertise or knowledge. Therefore, always keep your questions specific and not too broad. Explain why you are asking the question to provide context.
• Maintain balance – There may be a limit to how much you should ask. It’s important not to delay decision making in your attempt to understand. It might help you to set a deadline on your decision making.
• Help others to understand why you are asking the questions – It’s important that others understand your inquisitiveness is actually being used as a way to gather knowledge and not due to your lack of knowledge. Always provide context for your inquiries and explain your purpose in asking.
• Word your questions carefully – The way in which you phrase things and the words you use affects how people perceive your knowledge and your reasons for asking the question. Make sure your questions demonstrate your expertise in order to help other to connect with and build upon your insights. This will foster respect as well as collaboration. Don’t be afraid to explain why you are asking the question. And be sure to listen to the feedback and share that you will take it seriously in making any decisions. Doing this will build trust, respect and an environment of collaboration in your business.

Adapt a growth mindset for your business, which begins with asking questions and learning.

Timothy A Dimoff, CPP, Founder and President of SACS Consulting and Training Center, is a nationally recognized expert in corporate security and HR issues, with over 40 years of experience in workplace security, labor and human resource consulting to corporations, associations, religious entities, educational facilities, non-profit organizations and others.  He consults, trains and develops solutions for workplace issues including substance abuse, management training, sexual harassment, documentation procedures, liability reduction, hiring/firing, pre-employment screening, employee motivation, workplace violence, bullying, corporate investigations, internal theft, security analysis/vulnerability assessment and security measures. He provides commentary and profiling analysis for television, radio and print media worldwide.

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