Leadership Is Language book club questions

1. 1.

   Marquet argues that leaders who share their opinions first tend to get those opinions reflected back. When have you seen that dynamic in a meeting or conversation?

2. 2.

   What is the default ratio of Redwork to Bluework in your team or organization? When do you make time for genuine reflection, and what usually crowds it out?

3. 3.

   Think about the last meeting you ran or attended. What language patterns dominated? Which ones closed down thinking and which ones opened it up?

4. 4.

   Marquet uses the El Faro disaster as his central case study. What does that example reveal about how hierarchical communication patterns affect safety and performance?

5. 5.

   When have you held back a concern because the language or tone of the room made it feel unsafe to raise? What would have needed to be different?

6. 6.

   What's one linguistic habit of your own — a phrase you default to, a question you tend to ask — that might be shutting down honest thinking in your team?

7. 7.

   Marquet recommends asking for written independent assessments before group discussion. How would that change the dynamics of your most important recurring meetings?

8. 8.

   What's the difference between asking for agreement and asking for genuine assessment? How do you tell which you're actually getting?

9. 9.

   How do you express uncertainty at work? Does the culture in your organization reward certainty-signaling in ways that make honest doubt expression risky?

10. 10.

    Marquet distinguishes between intention and impact in communication. Where in your leadership has the impact of your language been different from your intention?

11. 11.

    Which of Marquet's specific language recommendations do you find most compelling? Which seem hardest to implement in your context?

12. 12.

    Marquet argues that changing language is a lever for changing culture. Is that a claim you find plausible, or does it put the cart before the horse?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.