In fast-paced businesses, it can be tempting to take a directive approach to leadership: see the problem, provide the answer, give the instruction, move on. It feels efficient. Tick, that’s done.

But over time, a tell-first leadership style creates dependency, disengagement, and a lack of critical thinking across your team. The business ends up relying too heavily on one or two “problem solvers” at the top - often the business owner or senior managers - while others wait passively to be told what to do.

Great leaders break this cycle by doing one simple but powerful thing: they ask questions.

And not just any questions - curious, open-ended, thought-provoking questions that help team members grow. If you want to build a business that runs well without you, it’s time to shift from do as I say to coach-and encourage.

From authority to growth

The traditional view of leadership which was built on authority, expertise, and control relies on giving orders and specific directions. It worked for a long time, particularly in manufacturing, military, and hierarchical workplaces.

But today’s employees expect more than instructions. They want clarity, connection, and to to be valued for their contributions.

Leaders who ask questions instead of giving directives move from being “the boss” to becoming a facilitator of performance and productivity because they:

• encourage ownership
  
  
• develop capability
  
  
• build trust and transparency
  
  
• allow problems to be uncovered before they become costly
  
  
• foster a culture of learning and innovation

The best part? These benefits aren’t just good for people, they’re good for your business.

Why asking questions works

Let’s break down the real benefits of leading with questions:

1. Accountability builder

When you give an order, the responsibility stays with you because it’s your idea, your instruction, your outcome. If it goes wrong, the employee may (consciously or not) blame the direction they were given – or some leaders may blame the employees because they believe their explicit instructions were not followed, therefore causing the failure to occur.

But when you ask a team member:

• “What do you think is the best next step?”
  
  
• “How would you handle this if I weren’t here?”

…you’re inviting them to think for themselves, weigh up options, and own the result. This increases their sense of autonomy and accountability which are two key drivers of engagement.

2. Encourages problem solving

Questions promote reflection and exploration. Instead of training your team to escalate every challenge, you’re helping them develop critical thinking and to be solutions focused,

Over time, you’ll hear less “What should I do?” and more “Here’s what I’ve tried - what do you think?”  This strategy can work more effectively than direct delegation because you are building an experienced, knowledgeable team that becomes solution driven who take on challenges without being afraid they will be judged as doing it ‘the wrong way’.

3. New insights can be discovered

Your frontline team members are often closer to customer issues, operational challenges, or process inefficiencies than you are. When you ask:

• “What are we missing?”
  
  
• “If you were running this team, what would you change?”
  
  
• “If you could change one thing today to improve x, what would it be?”

…you open the door to innovation, practical fixes, and perspectives you may never have considered. You access the strength within your team, and you allow them to shine within their field of expertise and experience further feeding into a positive and engaged team.

4. Relationship builder

Curious questions signal respect. They show that you value the person’s ideas, experience, and judgment. This is a powerful trust-building tool in teams that must work cohesively and where relationships really matter as a result.

What makes a great leadership question?

Not all questions are created equal. A good leadership question should be:

• Open-ended: Invite more than a yes/no answer
  
  
• Non-judgmental: Ask with genuine curiosity, not hidden criticism
  
  
• Action-oriented: Encourage problem-solving, planning or growth
  
  
• Timely: Asked in the right moment and not just for the sake of it

As an example, following are a few examples of leadership questions worth adding to your leadership toolkit:

Coaching questions

Designed to develop your team’s thinking, confidence and growth

• What options have you considered?
  
  
• What’s your gut/experience telling you?
  
  
• What would you do if you weren’t worried about getting it wrong?

Clarifying questions

Designed to deliver mutual understanding and prevent confusion. Questions that require someone to provide detail make sure that everyone understands the varying aspects of the project.

• What does success look like here?
  
  
• What’s your understanding of the priority?
  
  
• What information are you still missing?

Accountability questions

Designed to promote ownership and but also commitment to deliver.

• What’s your next step and by when?
  
  
• What support do you need from me?
  
  
• How will we know this has worked?

Culture questions

Designed to shape mindset and values

• How does this align with our values?
  
  
• What kind of workplace are we trying to build here?
  
  
• How would this decision look to a new employee?

Making the shift

You might be thinking: “Sounds good in theory, but I don’t have time for this in the real world. I just need to get stuff done now and it takes too long to let someone else work out what to do when I can just tell them what to do and how to do it!”

Totally fair but here’s the reality: you don’t have time not to. Every time you answer for someone, you train them to come to you next time. Every time you make a decision in isolation, you reduce their chance to learn. You create a workforce that is hamstrung when it comes to making decisions, resolving daily issues, building skillsets that help drive your business forward.

So how do you make this shift in real life?

1. Pause before you answer

When someone brings you a problem, resist the urge to solve it. Instead, ask

“What do you think we should do?”

Even if you ultimately make the call, the thinking exercise is worth it. You just never know what thought provoking ideas your team member may raise with their answers!

2. Create a safe environment for questions

If your team has been conditioned to follow orders, don’t expect them to jump straight into self-direction. Make it safe to try, reflect, fail, and learn.

You might say:

“I’m going to start asking more questions instead of giving answers. That’s not because I don’t care or don’t want to help; it’s because I want to help you build confidence and capability and also tap into your knowledge and thoughts.”

Remember, as humans, a considerable amount of learning occurs when we try something and fail.  These learnings consolidate and improve knowledge and key skillsets.

3. Practice in one-on-ones

Your regular check-ins are the perfect space to develop this habit. Focus less on reporting and more on coaching. Ask:

• “What’s been your biggest win this month?”
  
  
• “Where do you need more support?”
  
  
• “What’s something we could improve in our team?”

Leaders lead

The best leaders don’t just tell people what to do. They build teams who can think, adapt, and get on with their work without constant oversight and direction. 

That shift starts with one simple act: asking better questions.

So next time someone comes to you for answers, pause and ask some questions that gets your people thinking of the solutions.  Without doubt, your business - and your people - will be stronger for it.

If you looking to up your leadership game and want to consider coaching, or for any other HR needs, contact the HR Staff n’ Stuff team now to discuss.