Are you asking questions to make sure you know or make sure they know? Why?

I think most of my questions toward my subordinates within my current organization are to make sure my Soldiers know. Soldiers within my section have less than two years time in service with no previous experience in our profession. They are in the early stages of their careers and need extensive guidance to understand the Army’s cultural values, organizational standards, and expectations associated with their specific duty. I use questions primarily to verify they understand the intent and end state of given tasks, as well as to identify where we need to focus our training to address knowledge deficiencies.

With that being said, I’ve also been in a position where I’ve had to ask subordinates questions for my own knowledge. When I was a platoon leader, I was responsible for four different MOSs with varied equipment associated with each MOS. I had limited knowledge of each MOSs functions and their respective equipment, therefore I had to rely heavily on my subordinates’ knowledge of their own equipment, skills, and responsibilities to inform my decisions.

I related to Marquet’s transition from subject matter expert to novice when he was assigned to a new submarine and had to trust his crew to teach him what he needed to know. Based on my observations and experience, your subordinates’ perceived knowledge, level of responsibility, and experience with the subject at hand relative to your knowledge should dictate to what extent you ask questions to make sure you know vice making sure they know.