Questioning Beliefs …
I grew up learning to Question … it came naturally as I realised that the answers and norms that society was presenting to me during my childhood in London seemed to fit neither with the reality I was living nor with the stories I was hearing at home.
And so subconsciously, I began the process of seeking clarity on my own beliefs while rejecting many of the dominant and partially imposed norms of the society I was growing up in.
Apart from those societies in which norms are governed by the strategies required to survive the whims of dictatorial rulers,
Norms emerge from Values which themselves are founded on Beliefs.
At the personal level, Identity is always at the core.
Accepting beliefs without Questioning is a problem … It’s acquiescence.
Unfortunately, in so many societies, this reflects what a very large proportion of people tend to do.
Furthermore, those who do not share the conventional beliefs of a society or a group are frequently labelled and considered to be ‘odd’/’strange’/’unacceptable’ or even in some way ‘deviant’.
When you look at your organisation, perhaps this sounds familiar?
And regardless of whether you adhere to the beliefs prevalent in your everyday environment, accepting them without Question is unhealthy.
Clarifying the meaning of ‘belief’ …
Belief: What someone believes to be true.
It may or may not be true. And it may or may not be beneficial.
Some personal Questions we could ask ourselves …
… starting with a brilliant Question which I recently stumbled across, attributed to physicist Arno Penzias:
Additional Questions …
How could your Organisation benefit if you began asking some fundamental Questions?
Positive Change and Innovation only emerge when existing approaches/standards/norms, even values are Questioned.
Asking Powerful Questions is an essential early step for generating new initiatives.
At cultureQs this is our business.
We believe it’s healthy to Question.
And when working to align and integrate organisations around new initiatives, we have 370 Powerful Questions from which to select.
Of course it’s not just about having the Questions or even asking them.
We need to create the environment for the Questions to breath … the dialogue space that enables the deep generative conversations which accelerates the process of enabling people to connect beyond beliefs … to initiate changes that add value to the organisation and society.
You want to initiate a significant change in your organisation? … Ask us a Question!
Think ‘Question’ with a capital Q …