Page 133 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

CHAPTER 13

LEADERS ASK THE

TOUGH QUESTIONS THAT

NEED TO BE ASKED

The eighteenth-century French writer and philosopher Voltaire, who had
a great influence on Franklin, Jefferson, Paine, and other leaders of the
American Revolution, once said, “Judge a man by his questions rather than
by his answers.”
Effective leaders have the guts to ask the tough questions that have
to be asked. At the foundation of Western thought is the Greek philos-
opher and teacher Socrates, who believed he had a duty to present inci-
sive and profound questions to his young students. Nothing was taken
as absolute fact, and Socrates would challenge his students’ answers, spar-
ring with them intellectually and requiring them to back up their
responses with logical thought. The Socratic method still is used in
American law schools.
Voltaire and Socrates understood that leaders must elicit the best
information from others and listen carefully to make sure the answers
are based on credible facts, real knowledge, and logical thought. Inci-
sive questions also frame the focus of all those thinking through an
issue.
Unfortunately, in the presence of powerful people, some people tend
to fade into the background out of fear that they will say something fool-
ish, and they avoid asking provocative questions that might make waves.

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