A Live Online Leadership Conversation
Your team is smart.
So why do decisions still
break down under pressure?
Join Dr. Marilee Adams for a candid conversation on why thinking narrows when stakes are high — and the one shift that changes everything.
How to Improve Decision Quality Under Pressure
Free to attend · 60 minutes · Interactive session
It's not the missing data.
It's the missing questions.
Most leaders assume poor decisions stem from incomplete information. But something else happens first — and it's almost always invisible in the moment.
"Your organization is under pressure. The team is smart and motivated. But the decisions coming out of your meetings aren't as good as the people in them."
Sound familiar? Here's what's actually happening:
- When stakes rise, most teams unconsciously shift into judgmental mode — faster, narrower, more defensive
- Assumptions harden into facts and nobody notices — because everyone is doing it simultaneously
- The range of options considered quietly shrinks while urgency seems to demand an answer now
- Decisions get made — but carry hidden costs that surface weeks later
The problem isn't intelligence. It isn't effort. It's the quality of thinking under pressure — and specifically, the quality of the questions guiding the conversation.
When questions narrow,
possibilities disappear.
The single highest-leverage move a leader can make isn't finding better answers. It's learning to ask better questions — especially when the pressure is on.
- Author · Speaker · Coach
- Question Thinking® Creator
- 25+ Years in Leadership Dev
Dr. Marilee Adams
For more than two decades, Dr. Adams has helped leaders inside Fortune 100 companies, healthcare systems, universities, and government agencies strengthen one critical capability: the quality of thinking in high-stakes moments.
She is the creator of Question Thinking® and the author of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, currently in its 5th Edition.
Her work rests on a deceptively simple insight: the quality of our decisions is determined by the quality of our questions — not just in theory, but in real conversations, under real pressure.
An hour of leadership thinking
you won't find elsewhere
This isn't a lecture. It's a facilitated conversation for senior leaders who want to think differently about how their teams decide.
Why thinking narrows under pressure
Understand the invisible mechanism that silently degrades decision quality in high-stakes moments.
How hidden assumptions shape outcomes
Recognize the assumptions running your leadership conversations — and learn to surface them before they cause damage.
The role questions play in leading
Discover why the questions leaders ask shape what gets considered, what stays invisible, and what becomes possible.
One tool you can apply tomorrow
Leave with a concrete, practical approach you can bring into your next high-stakes conversation or team meeting.
Built for leaders who are already good
and want to be sharper
"If you care about the quality of thinking in your organization — not just the outcomes — this conversation is for you."
Your path into Learner Living
April 16 is your entry point into a deeper exploration of how leaders can think, choose, and lead differently.
If you cannot attend live, register to receive the recording.
Participation will be intentionally limited to preserve the depth and quality of dialogue.
Improving decision quality begins with a single question.
Join Dr. Marilee Adams on April 16 for a live, interactive conversation — and walk away with a sharper lens for leading under pressure.
April 16, 2026 · 9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET · Free · Online
2026 Inquiry Institute