Wicked Questions

Copione di facilitazione

1. 1

   Introduce the idea with one resonant example: 'How is it that we must move fast AND be deliberate?' Explain that a wicked question is not a problem to solve but a paradox to hold — both halves are true right now, and pretending otherwise is what keeps groups stuck.

   5 min
2. 2

   Show the template — 'How is it that we must [A] AND [B] simultaneously?' — and set the quality bar: both sides genuinely true, real tension between them, no answer smuggled into the wording. Give one deliberately bad example, such as a complaint dressed up as a question, so people recognise the trap.

   4 min
3. 3

   Have participants work solo or in pairs to draft one or two wicked questions about their own situation. Encourage a second pass at the wording — first drafts usually come out as either/or trade-offs rather than held paradoxes.

   7 min
4. 4

   Run a round-robin readout: each person or pair reads their question aloud and posts it. No debating yet — the only check is 'does this hold two truths at once?' Send weak candidates back for a quick rewording rather than rejecting them.

   8 min
5. 5

   Ask the group to scan the full set and name which questions feel most alive — the ones that produce a shift in the room, not just nods. Refine the wording of the top candidates together until each one bites.

   6 min
6. 6

   Select one or two questions to carry forward and agree exactly how they will be used — as the opening frame for an ideation session, a strategy discussion, or a leadership agenda. Close by reminding the group the question stays unresolved on purpose.

   5 min

Suggerimenti

• The wicked question is not a problem to be solved — it's a paradox to be worked with.

• Resist the urge to resolve it.

• The best wicked questions generate productive discomfort, not despair.

• If the group finds a question easy to answer, it wasn't wicked enough.

Errori comuni

• Accepting questions with a preferred answer hidden inside — 'How is it that we must innovate AND stop being so bureaucratic?' is a complaint wearing the template

• Letting the group slide into resolving the paradox — the facilitator's job is to keep both horns alive, not to broker a compromise between them

• Rushing the crafting step so the room settles for either/or trade-offs, which drain the tension the method depends on

• Steering toward a safe, comfortable question — if nobody shifts in their seat when it is read aloud, it was not wicked enough to be useful

Variazioni

Combine with TRIZ: use the wicked question as the starting point for 'what would guarantee failure?' Sequence with 1-2-4-All to build individual questions into a collective set.

Metodi correlati