But I think it’s crucial because it reminds you (and others) to slow down to make sure you truly understand. Too often we fail to pause for clarifica… - James E. Ryan

Just as asking “I wonder why?” will keep you curious about the world, asking “I wonder if?” will keep you engaged in the world. Nearly every adventure I have been on, and nearly every new thing I have tried, began with the question: “I wonder if I could do that?” The answers have not been uniform.

Too often we decide very early whether we agree or disagree with someone or with an idea, without making an effort to truly understand the person or the point. Our public conversations, and especially conversations on social media, often seem like exercises in picking sides and choosing teams. We hear or read something, make a quick call, then dismiss those with whom we disagree as ignorant or evil.

Effective leaders, even great ones, accept that they don’t have all the answers. But they know how to ask the right questions — questions that force others and themselves to move past old and tired answers, questions that open up possibilities that, before the question, went unseen.