Steve LowiszFounder of Guide, Don’t Drive™ Leadership | Keynote Speaker |

The Purpose of Questions Is Ownership

30 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, the speaker argues that questions should be crafted to provoke independent thinking and ownership rather than provide vague prompts or lead the respondent toward a predetermined answer. He emphasizes the need for leaders to be aware of their own biases when framing questions, cautioning against the common habit of immediately solving team problems—a behavior he suggests is contrary to effective leadership. The speaker warns that if a leader’s role is perceived solely as problem‑solving, they should reconsider their position, as this mindset undermines a culture of empowerment.

Chapters

I'm not an advocate of overly vague questions because the purpose of a question is to get the person to think. There are times where I will lead with the question. I know where I'm trying to take them and I got to caution myself on it because that's coming from my viewpoint based on my experience. What I'm trying to get them to do is think of it on their own, not tell them what to think by the way I'm asking the question. So I want to caution myself there because our habit is usually to solve. We think that's why we're paid, is that we're paid as leaders to solve all of our team's problems. If that's truly what you're paid for, get the hell out. Just, just telling you, because that's not the environment you want to be