Question the Game

In sports, questioning authority is built into the system. Basketball coaches use time-outs to challenge personal foul calls. Football coaches throw a red challenge flag. And tennis players challenge line calls. In each case, the game pauses. Officials review the footage. And sometimes, the original call gets overturned.

So, here’s a question: If athletes and coaches are expected to question the game, why don’t leaders do the same? 

In leadership, inquiry isn’t just allowed, it’s essential. Research backs it up: asking open-ended questions is one of the most effective tools to unlock awareness, shift team dynamics, and drive real transformation in both individuals and teams. Inquiry pauses the action. It opens a space for reflection, rather than reaction. It helps us get out of autopilot and into alignment.

Inquiry isn’t a technique, it’s a practice. And you can’t practice what you don’t model. That means regularly, intentionally, stopping the action to ask questions that spark reflection. The kind that:

• Surface how things are landing for people:

• What are your thoughts about what I just said? 

• What does this decision mean to you and why? 

• Highlight what is resonating and why:

• What stood out most in today’s conversation?

• As you reflect on the conversation, what insights are coming up for you?

• Create space for pushback and deeper clarity:

• What’s one question you still have?

• Do you see it differently? What am I missing? 

Inquiry questions aren’t about right or wrong. It’s not about placing blame or scoring points. It’s about creating space for people to think, to learn and to evolve. 

When leaders practice inquiry, they give their teams the safety of their whole, honest selves to the conversation. That’s how you stop playing the old game - and start leading the new one.