This episode accompanies Module 2 of the course, which is all about asking questions – critical questions to understand what the problem is that we are trying to solve. This is because so often in organisations we leap to solutions without being clear what the problem is.

This approach can be driven by a desire to do “stuff”, to get things done and to feel that we are making progress. But how many times is a solution delivered and it doesn’t seem to do the trick? Maybe that’s because not enough time was taken to understand the nature of the problem before jumping to solutions.

So we need to ask questions – lots of them. Asking them in the right way, of the right people, at the right time is vital.

By being constructive in our questioning, we can make a contribution to the decision making process even if we are not experienced, not powerful or not senior in the organisation. Sometimes the inexperienced have a better perspective because they don’t make so many assumptions and will be more easily forgiven for asking the "daft questions".

In other words “question everything”!

Host: Karen Plum

Guests:

Eric Barends, Managing Director, Centre for Evidence Based Management (CEBMa)
Denise Rousseau, H J Heinz University Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
Dr Lisa J Griffiths, CEO, OzChild National Support Office

Find out more about the course here: https://cebma.org/resources-and-tools/course-modules/

November 29, 2025

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