Humble Inquiry, 3rd edition, Edgar H. Schein
Humble Inquiry, 3rd edition, Edgar H. Schein
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Humble Inquiry, 3rd edition
The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling

Author: Edgar H. Schein, Peter A. Schein

Narrator: Sean Pratt

Unabridged: 4 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 07/01/2025


Synopsis

The global bestseller returns in its third edition to continue teaching people how to effectively ask and obtain accurate answers to questions across all mediums.

In an increasingly divisive era where communication is often dominated by assertiveness and directive leadership, this bestselling guide offers a refreshing and essential perspective on the power of asking instead of telling. This updated third edition offers practical advice for how to build relationships based on curiosity and foster collaboration and trust between team members.

Lessons in this book will help you:

● Build healthy relationships with people from different occupational, professional, and national cultures

● Create psychologically safe work climates that allow people to feel safe to share what they know

● Foster teamwork and bust hyper-competitiveness through open communication, trust, and coordination

In this new edition, updates have been made to 30% of the book that delves into the fresh challenges inherent in today's workplace, including new stories and case examples as well as an entire additional chapter with a focus on humble inquiry in the context of remote and hybrid work.

About Edgar H. Schein

Edgar H. Schein is Sloan Fellows Professor Emeritus of Management at the Sloan School. He is one of the founders of the field of organization development and the concept of process consultation. He has authored numerous books, including Organizational Psychology and The Corporate Culture Survival Guide.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Philippe on November 16, 2014

I am getting more and more convinced that big, systemic change takes root in conscious but modest shifts in behaviour and thought. The argument developed in this short book confirms this: asking the right questions, from an authentic attitude of respect and curiosity, is the basis for building trust......more

Goodreads review by Phuc on October 01, 2014

The idea is great and insightful. However, that could be easily covered by one chapter, not the whole book. The author repeat himself quite a lot.......more

Goodreads review by chantel on January 17, 2025

I read the first edition a few years ago and always remembered the concepts in Humble Inquiry. I really liked it, and it’s something that I practice a lot. Today a couple hours before having an important chat with some folks, I decided to read this and get fully recentred in my humble inquiry bag. T......more

Goodreads review by Andy on January 10, 2022

Mish-mash of advice that can be found in many other books I’ve read so I found it boring. What the author says isn’t wrong (“be humble”) but I worry that he omits things that are based on more solid evidence than his anecdotal experiences. For instance, he talks a lot about OR teams. I think that th......more

Goodreads review by Richard on July 06, 2018

I rather liked this little book. I've been a fan of Schein's thinking for a long time, since I was first introduced to his ideas on Process Consulting when I was a junior management consultant, (I know, we all have things in our pasts that are embarrassing!). This is a very easy read with deceptivel......more