Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling

by Schein, Edgar H.; Schein, Peter A.

• ISBN13: 9798890570956
• ISBN10: 8890570954
• eBook ISBN(s): 9798890570963
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-07-01
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• More Book Details

Summary

The global bestseller with over 300,000 copies sold returns in its third edition to continue teaching people how to effectively ask and obtain accurate answers to questions across all mediums.

With 30% new material, including how to apply humble inquiry in remote environments, this updated edition is the definitive book on bringing humility back into your life.

Ed and Peter Schein’s bestselling work on humble inquiry has reached hundreds of thousands of people across 17 different languages. The core concept is the gentle art and attitude of asking questions to which we don’t already know the answer and to build relationships based on curiosity and interest in another person. With the world becoming more decisive by the day, the skills needed to bridge those divides are more crucial now than ever.

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.

Author Biography

Edgar H. Schein was chairman and cofounder of the Organizational Culture and Leadership Institute (OCLI). He was the Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management Emeritus at the MIT Sloan School of Management and has received multiple lifetime achievement awards from associations such as the American Society of Training Directors, the Academy of Management, and the International Leadership Association. 

Peter A. Schein is the cofounder and COO of the OCLI. He has thirty years of industry experience in marketing, strategy, and corporate development at technology pioneers such as Apple and Sun Microsystems Inc. (Oracle).