Active Listening: The Art of the Open-Ended Question
By Amy Blanding (she/her), Lead Consultant & Facilitator, Endura Consulting
Today a coworker who reports to me said “This is the first time I have ever felt heard by someone in leadership”. I felt so grateful. But also, quite sad. Shouldn’t being heard be the foundation of a human-centered workplace?
Active listening is one of the most important and underrated leadership skills. Luckily for us all, it’s a skill that can be learned and improved upon with dedication and practice. And it doesn’t take much time to implement small changes that can shift how leaders relate to their staff. One of the best tools to promote active listening and build trust is the open-ended question.
Open-ended questions encourage meaningful answers, often by building on what someone already knows or feels. These questions are designed to move beyond standard, linear thinking, encouraging deeper reflection and actionable change. They focus on shifting perspective from problems to possibilities.
When asking open-ended questions, avoid those that solicit a simple yes/no response, and lean toward questions that start with “how” “what” and “why”. This helps to inspire critical thinking, ongoing dialogue, and juicy self-reflection.
Here are 5 open-ended questions that can help reveal experiences, thought processes, and emotions. Remember, these questions are meant to be starting points to help guide and coach, not an opportunity for you to impose your own solutions. Feel free to try them out with co-workers, direct reports, family members, friends, or even, dare I suggest, with yourself:
1) What outcome would you like to have from this conversation today? This question is perfect for opening up a two-way dialogue. It also helps promote presence. Let’s focus here, in this moment, and see what progress can be made.
2) How have you dealt with this type of situation before? Most people have the next wise action inside of themselves – they just need the time and space to see it clearly. Sometimes remembering what worked in the past can help clear the way.
3) If resources/time/money were not limited, what would it look like if it was good? Focusing on what limits us often gets in the way of the end goal. If we can focus on the ideal without constraints, clarity becomes possible.
4) If this was your patient/client/child/partner, what would you tell them to try next? I think we all know this one – we often have more clarity and care when we consider other people then when we consider ourselves.
5) What is your gut telling you? This is ultimately a value’s-based question, and no one knows your values better than you. Trusting your intuition is always a great way to get to the heart of what truly matters.
A leader that asks open-ended questions will start to gather the information needed to understand what team members feel, think, and believe. Use this tool as you build your active listening skills, and you’ll find that you will build trust and shared understanding along the way.
