Share Questions, Not Suggestions

Being helpful can be harmful. As a leader, your instinct is to help. Someone comes with a problem, and you offer a solution. Friendly, efficient… problem solved.

But here’s the catch: solving everything for your team keeps them dependent, slows their growth, turns you into a bottleneck, and delays initiatives.

🚫 Don’t take the monkey off their back.
The “monkey” is the annoying problem they’re working on. If you grab it, ownership shifts to you, and with it, your team’s initiative and growth.

✅ Instead, use the Socratic method to guide self-reflection:
Ask questions instead of giving answers.

Before they start, ask:

“What would you do, and why?”

After they’re done, ask:

“How did it go? How do you think you can do better?”

This works because:

• People often know more about the problem than you do.

• They’re more likely to act on ideas they generate themselves.

• Self-reflection, guided by strong questions, accelerates growth far more than answers ever could.

If they draw a blank upon hearing your questions, you can still follow up with: “Would you like my perspective?”

Used consistently, you’ll see a spike in initiative, engagement, and growth.

The best of all? With this method, you don’t even have to have all the answers, which means this method enables you to guide anyone in any subject matter.

So, next time, instead of saying what you think, why not ask what they think first?