A team member came to me with a problem and a troubled expression. As a leader, should you give a clear ‘correct answer’ as if you had been waiting for it? Not so. This is because the moment the leader presents the correct answer, the team members' thinking muscles stop working on their own and slowly begin to deteriorate.
We live in an era where artificial intelligence (AI) compiles all the information in the world and provides plausible answers in just a few seconds. The correct answer given by a leader no longer has the absolute value it once did.
In times like these, truly effective leaders shake their team members from their confidence and push them into confusion and bewilderment. This is why ‘Chief Question Officer (CQO)’ is being discussed as a new identity for today’s leaders.
At this point, it is necessary to recall again the 'Aporia' of Socrates, the philosopher who was the best at asking questions in human history. Aporia means ‘dead end’ or ‘perplexity with no way out.’
Socrates was famous for putting people in the awkward state they felt when the correct answer they believed in collapsed. Why did they do that? This is because humans move and think independently not when they are satisfied with the right answer, but when they encounter a dead end and are embarrassed.
However, aporia is missing from organizations in the artificial intelligence era. This is because artificial intelligence provides a smooth answer before you even begin to think deeply. The leader's role begins at this point. Intentionally inviting team members to Aporia.
“Isn’t this efficiency damaging our humanity?” “Will this path that we believe to be the right answer still be valid 10 years from now?” You have to push your team members into the alley of thinking by asking the same questions.
So should we get rid of artificial intelligence altogether? Not so. Ordinary leaders use artificial intelligence as an 'answering machine', but truly smart leaders use artificial intelligence as a 'thinking amplifier' that expands human thinking. This is where the leader’s sharp ‘intervention skills’ shine.
In order to go beyond the average answers provided by artificial intelligence and leap into the realm of wisdom, leaders must have the skills to ask four questions.
First, it is to become the ‘devil’s advocate’ and deliberately try to distract people. Artificial intelligence usually only gives polite and safe answers. At this time, the leader must make small cracks in the seemingly perfect plan.
Asking, “If this plan completely fails, why?” It is a technique that intentionally pours cold water into an atmosphere full of confidence, forcing blind spots that were not seen before.
The second is ‘expansion of perspective’. The goal is to break away from the logic of artificial intelligence and look at the problem from a completely different perspective.
For example, “What would the CEO of a competitor who wanted to take us down laugh at this plan?” “If you were to explain this to an 8-year-old child, what questions would he or she ask?” Only when we abandon familiar perspectives and redefine problems from unfamiliar perspectives can truly creative ideas emerge.
Third is ‘thinking about the worst case scenario.’ This is a 'pre-autopsy' technique that assumes that the project fails miserably a year later and then looks for the cause.
By asking, “Would this alternative still work if our strengths suddenly disappeared?” It is not simply a matter of being optimistic, but a process of simulating possible risks in advance and building the team's tenacity.
The fourth and final step is to check ‘our compass’. This is an area unique to human leaders that artificial intelligence can never do.
“Does this decision really fit with the values our company pursues?” By asking the question, “We will make money, but aren’t we losing our souls in this process?”, this is to remind us of the essential ‘rightness’ that organizations must not forget, beyond the efficiency indicated by numbers.
If we were to summarize the most powerful magic question a leader asks in one sentence, it would be, "Artificial intelligence says this. What do you think? What is your judgment?" This short question is the process of rediscovering the ‘real voice’ of a team member hidden behind the smooth report produced by artificial intelligence.
When the leader's courageous attitude of sharing the team member's anxiety and fear is put into question, the member is no longer a passive part, but becomes a 'protagonist' who can think for himself and take responsibility. Questions are not simply an act of asking for information; they are the most dynamic energy that wakes up members and makes them take action.
In the end, the only asset a leader has in the era of artificial intelligence is not ‘answers’ but ‘questions.’ When artificial intelligence is proving 99% efficient and winning, leaders must persistently ask whether the humanity of the remaining 1% has been damaged.
“What kind of environment will this decision leave to our children 10 years from now?” Only human leaders can ask such huge questions. A good question is a spark that sparks thought. The level of questions a leader asks determines the level of the organization, and the aporia the leader asks determines the future of the organization.
However, you should not be a bystander who only asks questions and runs away. It must be accompanied by an 'intervention routine' that takes on the team member's confusion and distress that will come after that question.
Making members take action through questions and igniting the fire of independence in their lives is the true leadership that this era demands. Now, I want you to redefine your identity from a leader who answers to a leader who asks questions.
Kim Eun-seong, KBS announcer
