More Questions than Answers: Why focusing on answers limits our growth

What if we spent less time focusing on having all the answers and instead devoted our brain power to coming up with better questions?

It might leave us with more questions than answers, and ultimately that’s OK. In fact, for Jeffrey Rogers, that’s the point. 

Rogers is a principal at the learning & development and innovation consultancy be radical and was previously the lead facilitator for executive education programs at Singularity University.

At first blush the idea seems almost counterintuitive, but Rogers argues that by moving the spotlight away from answers and instead onto asking more diverse and better questions, we can develop the ability to arrive at better, more creative solutions and models of leadership that will be more inclusive, more flexible, and more adaptable.

To do this, we need to think differently about our futures. Rogers distinguishes between what foresight practitioners call “the official future”—that is, the idea that there is one singular future that can somehow be predicted and planned for effectively, and possible futures—all the things that could happen, could be built or that we could become. The problem with organisations and individual leaders focusing on the singular “official future,” explains Rogers, is that this tends to make them less responsive to a world that is constantly evolving and extremely complex, whereas an approach taking in the wider array of possible futures—plural—considers a whole range of possibilities and supports greater agility in navigating uncertainty and complexity. 

“So we actually have to learn to embrace a little bit of uncertainty to ask some new questions about what might be, so we can unlock that scope of possible futures,” says Rogers. “Because uncertainty ultimately is a window on the possibility.”

Rogers cites the pioneering work of Fred Polak, whose seminal work “Images of the Future” posited that each of us hold our own visions and ideas that create our own images of the future and play a pivotal role in the development of our societies, culture and human affairs. 

“There’s often a role that the image of the future plays in how we can relate to others and also how we can relate to our future selves and future possibilities,” says Rogers. “What are our images of the future today? How do we imagine it? And what does that mindset allow us to see, or maybe prevent us from seeing?”

Rogers’ challenge is to embrace uncertainty and adopt “futures-thinking,” which develops the ability to see many possible futures clearly without focusing on any single one as certain. “That’s how we’re able to leverage uncertainty to be more of a productie superpower,” he says. 

Doing this successfully, and moving away from a desire for certainty and needing to know the right answer, and instead moving towards asking the right kinds of questions – those that engage curiosity and drive discovery, can help develop the vision to see these possible and potentially preferred futures. Because when we rush to answers, without taking time to consider the question we’re asking, we often default to doing more of what we already know and wind up actually ruling out a whole host of possible futures, Rogers explains. 

This means approaching things like brainstorming completely differently. Rather than rushing to find answers, try a “question storm,” he suggests. This process (championed by researchers like Warren Berger and Hal Gregersen) enables more people to speak up simply by voicing curiosity, more people to be heard, and exposes us to more diverse perspectives than one that is designed around the assumption that you already have all the answers to all the right questions — “because that is a really limiting paradigm and an environment that is not very conducive to an imaginative conversation,” Rogers says.

Instead, we need to stop and ask questions: am I even solving the right problem? What other questions can I ask, and what potential answers will those questions lead me to? 

“The key to developing your capacity as an innovator and an entrepreneur is restoring the capability to ask those questions, to shake up the status quo and to open that window of uncertainty onto new possibilities.” 

Question: Imagining some of the major challenges of our time — issues like climate change, water scarcity, and racism and discrimination — how would shifting our focus away from answers and instead to questions change our approach to tackling these challenges? What are some questions we can ask that will help lead us to solutions?

About Wavemakers

The Wavemakers program is a first-of-its-kind work-integrated learning program that leverages cutting-edge, accessible virtual reality technology and forward-thinking speakers. Wavemakers provides post-secondary students from diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives with the opportunity to come together, develop and cultivate future-proof skills, and build long-lasting connections with industry leaders, to help their transition into the workplace. It’s about providing meaningful opportunities to a diverse community of future leaders who can tackle today’s big challenges with even bigger and bolder ideas that will carry us into a more positive and inclusive tomorrow.