Humble Inquiry, Second Edition: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling Building Positive Relationships and Better Organizations (The Humble Leadership Series)

Great insights!

The book’s motives can bring you in a meditative mood. The key points are simple and very well explained without unnecessary details. It’s a light read with some new or forgotten lessons.I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to change a communication style or know about different approaches for discussing a problem

“Humble Inquiry” reflects Edgar Schein’s lifetime experiences as a social and organizational psychologist and contains lessons not only for business people, but everyone. Schein discusses how mastering humble inquiry can help leaders to overcome obstacles in establishing trustworthy relationships in the organization for increased motivation and performance excellence. Schein also explains the process of not “telling,” but “asking”, and the importance of how communication is conveyed.While Schein writes the book, he explains how to create a climate where the individual feels motivated to communicate in teams and with leaders freely. To create this environment, a leader must build a strong rapport and trusting relationship with their subordinates. Schein suggests that this creates an interdependence between the leader and the employee. One where the employee would feel comfortable correcting their boss if they deemed it necessary. In the book, the author gives an example of nurses and techs in hospitals. Techs and nurses are reprimanded by doctors through their hierarchical structure, and this can lead to them not feeling comfortable expressing legitimate concerns or pointing out a mistake a doctor might make.Schein illustrates that the United States culture values individualism and task accomplishment over relationship building as a method for accomplishing work. The author challenges the status quo and stresses the importance of relationships in our modern society. Leaders and organizations can benefit immensely by incorporating humble inquiry into their daily work life. People from all occupations can incorporate ideas from the book and apply them differently without necessarily ignoring current cultural values. Leaders especially will find value in this read and gain insight into how they can be a better and more effective leader.The author also emphasizes why it is vital to fully understand and diagnose mutual intentions in any situation before building relationships. Schein’s method of writing functions as an invitation to be more personal because it is the key to create a closer relationship. He also presents two communication models that work together to help people understand each other. Schein relays that the ability to make humble inquires will become ever more critical in life as today’s society becomes more complex and interdependent.Humble Inquiry does a great job of reminding the reader that asking the tough questions is an essential part of life. Schein mentions three areas of life when asking the tough questions is particularly challenging, including your personal life, organizations, and being an effective leader. While some people inquire, others tell. Schein truly challenges the reader to think more broadly and deeply about the role of the relationship in our complex and diverse world. The book relays how it is essential to reflect more about past injuries; in doing so, the reader will be able to use their previous inquiries as a learning opportunity.This book is written in a clear, simple style and provides helpful practical insights for those who are interested in building successful relationships within an organization, team, or simply anyone who wants to enhance everyday communication skills. Schein conveys that innovation and risk-taking are processes that allow people to find themselves. The ultimate challenge is for us to discover what kind of manager and leader we are while using humble inquiry. Overall, Schein’s most meaningful suggestion for the reader is to do less telling, more asking, and listen better to acknowledge others with mutual respect to build a positive relationship. As a group and readers, we strongly suggest this book because it will benefit all levels of an organization and even one's personal life.

“Humble Inquiry is the fine art of drawing someone out, of asking questions to which you do not already know the answer, of building a relationship based on curiosity and interest in the other person.” - Edgar Henry ScheinWe all live in a culture of ‘tell’ and find it difficult to ’ask’. This limits our ability to build relationships with others. Schein recognizes this gap and explains the concept of Humble Inquiry effectively. He writes that Humble Enquiry builds interdependence by helping us have better information, and building mutual respect with others. The basic concept of humble enquiry is to learn how to ‘ask’ instead of ‘tell’ and approach conversations with genuine curiosity and humility. Schein explains that what we ask, how we ask it, and when we ask it - all matter.Schein has used several real life examples to explain the concept of Humble Inquiry. These examples make us understand how humble enquiry can be used or practiced in our day to day life. Through this book Schein does not intend to teach how to practice humble enquiry, the true message, we believe, is to educate readers about the value of building relationships by asking questions that arise from curiosity and interest. In this book, Schein often refers to task-oriented culture in US. He explains that there is a lack of attention to relationship issues, which in turn ends up dampening task accomplishment. Schein’s suggestions feel counter-intuitive in this culture of task performance, interpersonal competitiveness and telling rather than asking. Schein suggests that a leader can use humble inquiry to help others see their interdependence and build mutual respect, which will lead to collaboration.Schein has done a great job in introducing readers to concepts that they would have ignored otherwise in their day to day lives. Schein defines strategic humility and categorizes humility as: basic humility (attitude towards somebody who has a high title); optional humility (attitude towards somebody who shows that they are capable); and Here-and-now humility (situational attitude towards somebody in order to build a relationship). Here-and-now humility is crucial for the understanding of Humble Enquiry. Schein’s example of a surgical team performing a complex operation provides a good context for these three types of humility.This book is a good read for managers who are looking to bring a change in their communication style. Communication plays an important role in strategic management for an organization. Without effective communication, the goals, objectives and vision developed by senior management may not be properly conveyed or perhaps miscommunicated to other stakeholders. Schein emphasizes the importance of developing an attitude of humble inquiry which is often found missing when a person higher up in hierarchy communicates with people working under him. Dynamics within organizations is constantly changing with time. Companies are transforming from a hierarchical organizational structure to more people oriented. People oriented organizations like Software or Service companies need a communication structure which encourages idea from all. Schein echoes the same thought and believes that organizational transformation is required so that leaders start listening and asking questions. Humble enquiry can lead to efficient exchange of information which may have been lost otherwise.Schein’s style of writing is simple and to the point. This book helps us pay attention to conversations in our day to day lives and how they can be transformed to incorporate Humble Enquiry. This is one strategy that can be applied across all industries and can be practiced by anyone within the organization - starting from an intern and going all the way up to the CEO, results can be extraordinary.

I rather liked this little book. I've been a fan of Schein's thinking for a long time, since I was first introduced to his ideas on Process Consulting when I was a junior management consultant, (I know, we all have things in our pasts that are embarrassing!).This is a very easy read with deceptively simple advice, but summarises decades of experience on what really brings people and teams together, and what avoids the significant problems that result from a failure of people to effectively communicate.It is aimed at the American market, and most of the examples are about the way Americans tend to interact. It is particularly good in explaining how individualism and the competitive spirit can get in the way of effective communications. But before others get too self-assured that the problems explained here are unique to the USA, its worth a little humility and willingness to be open to the ideas. They are simple, but profound and I suspect universally applicable.

This short book is a very good examination of the interpersonal and cultural dynamics at work in organizations and families: the balance between individual success and healthy team dynamics. It is exclusively about American practice. I found it transferable to the UK workplace, but may not apply to other cultures. Worth reading, but probably less so if you have already read a lot about coaching and/ or mindfulness.

I'm a long-term fan of Edgar Schein and this is a welcome addition to his body of work.He always writes in a very human and simple way. I think it takes courage to write simply, as it can sound obvious and ..."surely everyone knows that." But the areas where Schein works - teams, social dynamics and self-reflection - these are highly complex and ambiguous domains. He brings en beautiful clarity, which I always appreciate.This book is worth your time and money for numerous reasons. For me, the key point was a continuation of his work around Process Consultation and how to give and take advice.Thoroughly recommended.

Edgar ain’t half clever. Far smarter than I’ll ever be, but if your audience is your average Jo/ Joe, then you might find this a little slow and want it to get to the punch-line quicker.In summary, you’ve got two ears and one mouth - use them in that order by asking question, then shut-up and see what the others have to say.

A profound must-read for any changemaker seeking to create or transform in a more inclusive, sustainable and powerful way.A delightful, masterly guide on how to engage, connect and collaborate with others in a more meaningful way for both parties.