Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

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Being too immersed in a problem makes it harder for you to see the overall context behind it, which can lead to you feeling stuck. To expand your view of the problem, try asking elevating questions. These types of questions raise broader issues and highlight the bigger picture.

o For example, you can ask, “Taking a step back, what are the larger issues?” or “Are we even addressing the right issue?”

o Using this approach, a discussion on issues like margin decline and decreasing customer satisfaction could turn into a broader discussion of corporate strategy through an elevating question like, “Instead of talking about these issues separately, what are the larger trends we should be concerned about? How do they all tie together?”

o These questions take you to a higher playing field where you can better see connections between individual problems.

Adapted from “Relearning the Art of Asking Questions,” by Tom Pohlmann and Neethi Mary Thomas.

To check out that resource and join the discussion, please click here.

https://hbr.org/2015/03/relearning-the-art-of-asking-questions

Also, you may wish to check out an anthology, Management Tips from Harvard Business Review, by clicking here.