Book Club Informational Meeting: Humble Inquiry

Book Club Informational Meeting:

Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling

Wednesday, June 16, 2021 at 12PM MT

Facilitated by Patricia Teall Vincent

Pre-Meeting Details (Members Only)

This meeting is to meet and discuss best times to offer the monthly book club starting in September 2021.

This deceivingly simple book is 7 chapters on Humble Inquiry (compared with other kinds) that describe external and internal forces forming our instinct to tell rather than ask. The final chapter helps us focus on practicalities of changing those instincts. Schein steers us toward reflecting on our own listening skills as coaches and shores up our understanding of professional and executive clients' realities.

Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling by Edgar H. Schein.

About the Book

Communication is essential in a healthy organization. But all too often when we interact with people—especially those who report to us—we simply tell them what we think they need to know. This shuts them down. To generate bold new ideas, to avoid disastrous mistakes, to develop agility and flexibility, we need to practice Humble Inquiry.

Ed Schein defines Humble Inquiry as “the fine art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not know the answer, of building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in the other person.” In this seminal work, Schein contrasts Humble Inquiry with other kinds of inquiry, shows the benefits Humble Inquiry provides in many different settings, and offers advice on overcoming the cultural, organizational, and psychological barriers that keep us from practicing it.