Pondering the imponderables

Some of my students in my philosophy course are starting to get annoyed that the professor doesn’t answer their questions. More often than not, when a student asks a question, the professor will respond, “That’s a good question,” or, “What do you think?” It hasn’t stopped the students from asking good questions. In fact, as the course goes on, the students are learning to ask better questions.

Veteran leaders are likely to develop a set of questions they ponder once in a while. Most of those questions are imponderables, questions that seem to have no answer:

• Why is it so hard to bring about change even when people know what is necessary?
• Why does it take so long to get things done?
• Why is it that just when you think you finally have a handle on things, someone or something throws you for a loop?
• Why is it that no matter where we go, we seem to run into the same problems and the same problem people?
• Why do organizations tolerate underfunctioners?
• Why do organizations follow dysfunctional leaders?
• Why is it so easy for people to get stuck in groupthink?
• Why do organizations cater to the weaker members rather than reward, affirm, or acknowledge the healthier, stronger members?
• Why is it that a leader’s most important challenges are the first to be sabotaged?
• Why is it that the most trivial issues bring out the most passionate and energetic conflict?
• Why can’t most organizations get past their original formatting?
• Why is it so difficult for leaders to hold people responsible for their actions?
• Why can’t an organization seem to find the leaders it really needs to get it unstuck?
• Why are some leaders drawn to dysfunctional and needy organizations?
• Why do organizations seem to repeat the same dysfunctional patterns, mistakes, poor practices over and over with, seemingly, an inability to learn?
• Why is it that no matter who you put in certain positions or how you rearrange a committee or board, the job or group will never function better?
• Why is it that the collective IQs of of individuals drops exponentially when they come together as a group?

If you know the answer to any of these, let us know.