Aerospace leaders' questioning techniques and their perceived effectiveness: A case study

Communications matter. How a leader speaks to his or her team affects the team performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between a first level leader's preferred questioning technique and perceived effectiveness of the leader by members of his or her group. The study utilized two Web-based instruments. The study population was composed of an engineering group at an aerospace company located in Southern California. The study found the most-effective leadership style to be Initiation of Structure and the most commonly used questioning technique to be Interrogation. The results of this study indicate the importance of including effective questioning techniques as part of a leadership-training program. The researcher recommends that studies be conducted at large, medium, and small aerospace companies.