Why sometimes questions are the answer

Guest post by Paolo Gallo

We all got to a point where we need to re-assess, take stock of our careers and life, where we know that keeping on doing what we have always done is not the answer.

Shall we explore how?

Who is the most relevant influencer of all time? Please think about it. Are you coming up with some famous singer, actor, politician or sports star? Let me help you: the most critical influencer of all times 1) is not and never has been on any social media; 2) has not written one single line in his life; 3) he does not sing or dance or act; 4) we don’t have any picture or image of him, but we know he was not attractive, and even frequently ridiculed for his ugliness, and – ready? – 5) his fellow citizens voted to execute him. Then, he peacefully drank a glass of hemlock (please don’t try this at home) and was gone.

Why questions can be the answer sometimes

So let me introduce him to you: Socrates. He’s perhaps the most recognized philosopher of all time, and yet we know so little about him. What we do know comes from his fellow philosophers Aristotle, Plato, the playwright Aristophanes and the historian Xenophon. But, interestingly, he didn’t leave us with any philosophical theory or any formula such as E=mc2 that made Einstein famous.  So, why is Socrates still so influential in our lives?

We have learned from him an approach to life, not a theory or a formula. I guess that teaching people to use their minds is still dangerous, even if people who do so are not forced to drink poison anymore. Socrates was interested in seeking the right question rather than providing a plausible answer.

His method is called maieutic, the art of midwives. The difference is that he devoted his life to supporting people to give birth to ideas and solutions rather than babies. Wait: isn’t this the beginning of becoming an independent thinker? Socrates is – at least to me – the person who created coaching.

Let me offer you with some of the questions you need to ask yourself. Take your time to let them sink in; take your time to reflect on them and then act on them. So, please take a pen, switch off your phone, sit comfortably, get a glass of water, focus on yourself and breathe deeply ten times. Ready? You will need to Visualize, reflect, imagine, create

What do you stand for? What matters to you?

Begin with the end in mind. What is your definition of success?

What are you doing for others?

What value do you create for others?

What are you good at now?

What do you want to be good at in the future?

What are you doing now to help yourself to get there?

What are you doing that is derailing your journey?

What are you NOT doing that you should start immediately?

What are you doing that you should stop immediately?

What do you do when you don’t know what you are doing? (How, where and with whom you spend your free time will give you a hint.)

If you spend – better – invest quality time you will find the answer because you have formulated the right question.  Thank you Socrates, again.

Paolo Gallo is a certified Executive Coach, keynote speaker, and author on personal and professional development, leadership, the future of work, and learning. He’s an Adjunct Professor in Leadership and Organizational Behavior at SDA Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Paolo has served as Chief Human Resources Officer at the World Economic Forum in Geneve and EBRD in London and Chief Learning Officer at the World Bank in Washington, DC.

He has worked in 80 countries and is the author of “The 7 Games of Leadership: navigating the Inner Game of Leaders” (Bloomsbury, 2023) and the award-winning book “The Compass & The Radar: The Art of Building a Rewarding Career while remaining true to yourself.” (Bloomsbury 2018).

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