The Key to Effective Conversation

Communication is vital in a wholesome organization. But all too often when we interact with people-especially those that are accountable to us-we simply tell them what we should think they need to know. This shuts them down. To create bold new suggestions, to avoid disastrous mistakes, to develop agility and flexibility, we have to practice Humble Inquiry.

Ed Schein defines Humble Inquiry as “the fine art of drawing someone away, of asking queries to which you have no idea the answer, of building a relationship predicated on curiosity and curiosity about the other person.” With this seminal work, Schein contrasts Humble Inquiry with various other types of inquiry, displays the benefits Humble Inquiry provides in lots of different settings, and offers advice on overcoming the ethnic, organizational, and emotional barriers that hold us from training it.