Here’s a thought. School’s never out for the professional. How does that make you feel? Excited or depressed? Continuous formal learning, whether in the university classroom or the corporate training room, is a necessity not a luxury for all of us. But there is another, informal style of learning that leaders need to encourage. It is learning because of curiosity and need.

I was at a speaker showcase several years ago when I heard a presenter by the name of Bob Prichard say, “When you’re not learning—someone somewhere else is. When you meet—guess who has the advantage.” I’ve carried that concept with me every day since. As a leader, you need to ask yourself if you could honestly say that your team is smarter today than they were a year ago. If they are, do you know how they got that way? Good business means, in part, replicating effective behavior, but you can’t replicate behavior that you don’t know about. Start asking questions about learning.

Finding out how your people learn can be a fascinating exercise. You’ll find those who learn by doing, some who learn by listening, and others who need to see a picture (either real or imagined) before something sinks in. The advantage of a supported do-it-yourself learning environment is that everyone can have their learning the way they need it. You can be part of the support process. Does your organization have a library? Does it have both books and books on tape? Are there whiteboards and flipcharts available for everyone’s use? Do you understand that doodling, muttering under your breath, and standing up during a meeting can all be signs of a person learning? It appears as though there could be a lot for you to learn.

Why bother? Because of the competition. You can bet they’re learning, and if they are and you aren’t, the future starts looking dim. So, start asking a few questions. Who knows, you might learn something!

If anyone is taking a vote on the most misused business word, let me know. I want to place a vote. The word team is often used to describe any group of people working on a task. Team, however, actually means something very specific. A team is a collection of people with a shared, meaningful purpose and an emotional connection who work together toward a common goal. This isn’t the place to debate the definition or the value of teams, but this is the place to consider the importance of asking What is it like to work on a team in our organization? if you do consider your organization to be team-based. The answers to this question will be greatly dependent on the team’s current situation. Teams, like individuals, departments, and organizations, have good days and bad days, and the answer to this question will be influenced by which kind of day it is. After listening to a litany of problems or a joyful description of successes, you’ll need to probe further. Your intent in asking this question is to uncover the totality of a team’s experience in your organization. If people mention a lack of support, scarcity of resources, insufficient recognition, or endless meetings that seem to be a waste of time, pay attention. Teams don’t just happen. You can’t expect that by putting a group of smart people into a room together and calling them a team, they’ll become one. Teams need to be nurtured, and that’s the job of a leader. Based on the answers you get to this question, it might be time to review how you form, train, and launch your teams. Maybe you need to review the charters of your existing teams. How about planning some project reviews that not only look at a team’s progress toward their goals but that also include a review of how effectively the team is working together.

Somewhere, in a positive answer to this question, people might talk eagerly about the opportunities they’ve had to learn new things, develop new skills, and nurture new relationships. When you get these kinds of responses, you’ve learned that the team experience in your organization is shaping up to both the member’s and the organization’s benefit.

This question is designed to take the conversation to the level of specific action. This is the What would make us better? question, with teeth. You’re asking your customer to express the thoughts and ideas they had while waiting on hold, fighting to get an invoice corrected, or shaking their head over one of your policies. You’re asking your customer to tell you the truth, and that’s a big deal. An even bigger deal is what you do with the answer to this question. Listening and asking for clarification are acceptable responses. Explaining why you can’t or won’t try the suggestion isn’t.

A note of caution. If you ask a customer this question about change, don’t be surprised if your customer asks it back at you. What would you say? And if this original question-and-answer session turns into an ongoing dialogue, you may find yourself facing a partnership waiting to happen.

Actually, you’ll have better luck asking this question of a customer who considers you a partner rather than a vendor. As the world of business has gotten more complex, customers are looking for the opportunity to work with their suppliers instead of just buying from them. Working together in a partnership relationship, seeing the world from a broader viewpoint than either one of you could ever envision on your own, allows both parties to gain. These partnerships go beyond the traditional working toward a win/win situation. They exist to create. Create new ways of going to market, new ways to solve problems, and new ways to define success.

Partnership carries with it the desire for two-way feedback. In fact, the only way partnerships work is when both parties are willing to make the commitment to a continuous stream of feedback—what’s working and what’s not. Terry McElroy from McLane Company is quoted in Dance Lessons: Six Steps to Great Partnerships in Business & Life by Chip Bell and Heather Shea as saying, “We are constantly asking ourselves, ‘Are we doing business at the level we want to? Are we worthy of this partnership?’ And we want partnerships with people who ask themselves those same questions.” Another set of good questions.