Munafo Core Values: MCV09 — Ask Powerful Questions

Ask Powerful Questions

This core value expresses the importance of inquisitiveness in the sense of the mature Magician and Crone archetypes.

Questions can be broken up into the following categories:

- Leading questions — the asker already knows the answer, but the responder does not (using the Socratic method, or using pointed questions to force a conclusion, also called "loaded questions" or "leading the witness").

- Following questions — the asker does not know the answer, but the responder probably does (these are typical questions of clarification and learning)

- Powerful questions — neither the asker nor the responder knows the answer, until the question is asked. Both parties will learn from the experience

MCV09 for Teams

In a team context, a challenge is a question. When an unexpected challenge presents itself, the world is "asking" the team a question. When, as is more frequent, the team takes on a challenge on its own initiative, the team is "asking" itself a question. The questions presented by the challenge are "Can we, should we, and will we, do this? What will come of it?". The answer is embodied in the results: the team's performance in meeting the challenge, success or failure, and any unexpected benefits or lessons learned. Since the question is both asked and answered by the team, the distinction of which type of "question" is constituted by the challenge is between just two types: Mild (leading or following) and Powerful.

In the more purely mental or intellectual sense of the Magician archetype (truth, knowledge, philosophy, etc.) the academic peer review process stands as a good example of a team embodying the core value Ask Powerful Questions.

When this core value is present:

Team takes on challenges or commitments that have unpredictable results. (+mcv9a)

When this core value is lacking:

Team takes on challenges or commitments whose outcome is predictable. (-mcv9a)

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This page was written in the "embarrassingly readable" markup language RHTF, and was last updated on 2011 Jan 20.

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