The Question That Reveals the Leader’s Mental Model

·       Default managerial response to failure: “Who is to blame?”

·       Systems-thinking response: “What in the system produced this outcome?”

Why this matters: Questions shape behavior.

·       “Who?” → defensiveness, fear, blame

·       “What?” → diagnosis, learning, improvement

Leadership Signal: Blame-focused questions reveal a control mindset. System-focused questions reveal a design mindset.