State HR webinar urges supervisors to 'ask more, say less' to improve decisions

JJ Acker, a presenter with the Department of Government Operations’ Division of Human Resource Management, opened a recorded webinar titled “Ask More, Say Less” by urging supervisors to make questioning a deliberate leadership practice rather than an incidental habit. “Good answers only follow good questions,” Acker said, framing inquiry as essential to learning, innovation and risk mitigation.

Acker argued that managers spend much of their day eliciting information and that treating questioning as a skill can surface hidden assumptions, reveal root causes and strengthen team trust. He illustrated stakes with industry examples: automotive quality‑control processes where minute defects matter and a cited health‑care example in which a 99.9% accuracy rate still translates into large absolute numbers of errors (the presentation referenced 20,000 incorrect prescriptions per year and other illustrative figures) to underline why deeper inquiry matters.

The presentation outlined practical frameworks. Acker reviewed Toyota founder Sakichi Toyoda’s 5 Whys, a linear method for tracing a problem through iterative 'why' questions, then recommended a 3‑legged expansion that probes (1) why the problem occurred, (2) why it was not detected, and (3) why the system or process failed, to avoid oversimplified root‑cause conclusions. He also presented five strategic question domains—investigative (what happened), speculative (what if), productive (how to execute), interpretive (what does it mean) and subjective (feelings, assumptions)—and encouraged using a mix of all five when tackling complex problems.

Acker walked participants through common pitfalls to avoid when asking questions: phrasing statements as questions, embedding bias or steering language, asking double‑barreled or overloaded questions, using trigger words or hyperbole, and overrelying on closed yes/no prompts. He recommended practical habits to build an inquiry culture: include questions on written agendas, ask subject‑matter experts to bring questions, schedule explicit question time in meetings, invite less‑familiar participants to probe topics, and assign question domains to team members to ensure multiple perspectives.

On technique, Acker recommended sequencing questions from simple to deeper probes so respondents can prepare their thinking, and he summarized negotiation coach Chris Voss’s counterintuitive advice to “lead with pessimism” (for example, asking “Is this a bad time to talk?”) as a way to focus attention and elicit candid responses. He also described echoing and mirroring as brief, low‑risk follow‑up tactics to prompt clarification.

Acker closed by stressing that asking questions demands genuine listening: “If you’re not going to listen, don’t bother to ask the question.” He reminded attendees that slides and a recording would be sent to registrants and announced a related webinar on leading with agility to be presented by Rick Murdoch.

The session was instructional; no formal actions or policy changes were proposed or taken during the webinar.