Humble Inquiry, 3rd Edition: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling -- Edgar H. Schein, Paperback
Most leaders assume they're good communicators. What they're actually doing--most of the time--is telling. And telling, even when well-intentioned, is a subtle power move that shuts people down, withholds critical information, and quietly erodes trust. Humble Inquiry makes the case for a different approach: asking questions you genuinely don't know the answers to, from a posture of curiosity rather than authority. What you'll find inside this fully updated third edition:
- The ORJI cycle--why conversations go wrong in a split second, and how to interrupt the pattern
- A levels-of-relationship model to diagnose where your team is--and how to move toward real openness and trust
- Why hierarchy and "tell" culture actively undermine psychological safety--and what to do about it
- A new chapter on humble inquiry in remote and hybrid work (spoiler: it works--and may work better)
- Reader exercises, twelve mini case studies, and a discussion guide for teams
Author: Edgar H. Schein
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 7/1/2025
Pages: 176
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.5 lbs
Size: 8.4" H x 5.6" L x 0.6" W
ISBN: 9798890570956
