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Leading with Questions book club questions
Here are 11 book club questions for Leading with Questions by Michael J. Marquardt, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
Leading with Questions is Michael Marquardt's argument that great leaders are not distinguished by the quality of their answers but by the quality of their questions.
Michael J. Marquardt · 2005 · 4h 0m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 11 questions
- 1.
Think of a leader who influenced you significantly. Did they lead more with questions or with answers? What effect did that have?
- 2.
Marquardt argues most leaders talk too much in meetings. What percentage of your average meeting time do you spend listening versus speaking?
- 3.
What is the last question you asked a team member that genuinely changed your thinking about a situation?
- 4.
How comfortable are you with silence after asking a question? What does that comfort level reveal about your relationship with authority?
- 5.
Marquardt says expert identity is a trap. Is there an area where your sense of being the expert is preventing you from asking better questions?
- 6.
What's a question you wish someone had asked you at a pivotal moment in your career that nobody asked?
- 7.
Pick a recurring problem on your team. What question, if asked repeatedly, might dissolve it or reframe it entirely?
- 8.
The book describes leaders who ask questions as seeming uncertain to some observers. How does your organizational culture reward or punish apparent uncertainty in leaders?
- 9.
What's the difference between a question asked from genuine curiosity and one asked to corner someone? How do people on your team tell the difference?
- 10.
Marquardt suggests that questions are more powerful in performance reviews than evaluations. What would change in your next review conversation if you asked twice as many questions as you currently do?
- 11.
If you had to ask only one question at the start of every team meeting for the next three months, what would it be?
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.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for Leading with Questions?
Here are 11 book club questions for Leading with Questions by Michael J. Marquardt, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on leadership, questioning, coaching.
How long should a book club discussion of Leading with Questions last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in Leading with Questions?
Leadership, Questioning, Coaching, Learning organizations, Communication. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like Leading with Questions or questions for other book club picks.
