The 1 Question I Ask in Every Leadership Meeting to Uncover Problems Before It’s Too Late

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Key Takeaways

Green dashboards don’t necessarily reflect reality. Ask, “What am I missing?” to uncover hidden risks, flawed assumptions and obstacles before they derail a project.
Encourage team members to explain risks and propose solutions. Creating a culture where people feel safe raising concerns early builds trust and accountability.
End meetings with action. Every concern should lead to a clear decision, an assigned owner and specific next steps. That discipline turns discussion into execution.

Every executive has sat through the familiar project review. A dashboard flashes green, yellow and red. Leaders move from one initiative to the next, assuming the colors tell the story. They don’t.

I remember sitting in a leadership meeting reviewing a major project. The status was green. The completion percentage was 20%. The deadline was the next day.

I said, “Walk me through how we’re going to finish the remaining 80% by tomorrow.”

The response caught me completely off guard.

“We’re not late yet.”

Technically, that was true. The deadline hadn’t passed. Operationally, it was disconnected from reality.

That meeting reinforced something I’ve seen throughout my career. Leaders can become so focused on reporting status that they lose sight of what is actually happening. Green, yellow and red tell you almost nothing by themselves. A project can appear healthy while serious risks are quietly building beneath the surface. Teams can update every dashboard and complete every status report while moving steadily toward a missed commitment.

People confuse process with progress.

From that point on, I changed how I ran leadership meetings. Instead of asking people to explain the dashboard, I started asking one question: “What am I missing?”

That question has consistently improved the quality of decisions, strengthened accountability and helped teams execute more effectively because it uncovers information a status report never will. The real value, however, comes from what happens after full transparency is provided.

Step 1: Surface reality

When I ask, “What am I missing?” I’m not asking for opinions. I’m asking for information. I want to know what risks haven’t surfaced, what assumptions we’re making, what dependencies could derail the timeline and what decisions are preventing progress.

If your meetings consist of everyone reporting that everything is on track, you’re probably missing something important. When you think about it, what does a green status tell you about what’s really going on? Instead, ask questions that reveal what’s actually happening.

What risk are we not discussing?
What assumption could prove wrong?
What decisions need to be made today?
Where do you need my help?

Those questions move the conversation beyond reporting and into problem-solving.

Step 2: Clarify the risk

Finding a risk is only the beginning. When someone raises a concern, don’t move on to the next agenda item. Ask them to walk you through it.

What evidence supports your concern? What happens if we do nothing? What options do we have?

This is exactly what happened during that project review. Once we walked through the work that remained, everyone could clearly see the project wasn’t green at all. We still had time to respond because we identified the problem before the deadline arrived.

Leaders don’t create value by discovering problems. They create value by discovering them while options still exist. Time is a precious resource; get to the heart of your issues early, and you will have more room to work out a solution or do damage control.

Step 3: Turn concerns into ownership

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is allowing someone to identify a problem without asking them to help solve it. Whenever someone raises an issue, I follow with another question.

“How would you approach it?”

That shifts the discussion immediately. Instead of simply pointing out what’s wrong, people begin thinking through priorities, tradeoffs, resources and execution. They become invested in the outcome because they’ve contributed to the solution. Ownership grows when people articulate their thinking and help shape the path forward. Ownership is a way to reward people for providing transparency.

Step 4: End with action

Every concern raised in a meeting should end with a decision or an owner. If additional resources are required, decide who will secure them. If priorities need to change, make the tradeoff before the next meeting. If an issue needs to be escalated, assign someone to do it.

Meetings should never end with everyone agreeing there is a problem. They should end with clarity about who is doing what next. That discipline turns discussion into execution.

Transparency creates trust

This process only works if people believe it’s safe to speak honestly. Too many organizations unintentionally reward good news, and that can have unintended negative consequences. People learn to protect themselves by reporting green until the evidence becomes impossible to ignore.

I reward something different. I reward transparency. Silence can be deadly, never mind expensive.

When someone surfaces a risk early, my first question isn’t, “Who caused this?” It’s, “What decision do we need to make now?” That response teaches the organization that identifying problems early is valued because it gives us time to solve them. Over time, people stop hiding issues and start bringing them forward while options still exist. That is how trust accelerates execution.

Better questions create better leaders

Leadership today is very different from when I started my career. Technology evolves rapidly. AI is changing how organizations operate. The pace of business continues to accelerate, and no leader has all the answers.

The leaders who succeed are the ones who consistently uncover the information they don’t have. At the beginning of your next leadership meeting, try this simple process. Ask, “What am I missing?” Listen carefully before offering your own conclusions. Turn concerns into ownership by asking how people would solve the problem. Leave the meeting with clear decisions, clear owners and clear next steps.

Better leadership rarely begins with having the smartest answer. It begins with asking the question that unlocks clarity, better judgment and stronger decisions.

Effective product pages help online shoppers decide whether an item fits their needs and what buying it involves. A beautiful photograph gets attention. Product details such as dimensions, available sizes, delivery details, and a clear price help turn that attention into a purchase.

Even established retailers miss these basics. In its benchmark of leading U.S. and European retailers, updated in March 2026, Baymard Institute rated 52% of desktop sites and 62% of mobile sites “mediocre or worse” for product-page usability¹.

Product-page changes can affect revenue, too. In a 27-day test for Life Pro Fitness, agency Media Contour made product images, key details, and buying buttons visible without needing to scroll. Testing vendor Wingify reported that the revised page generated $0.67 more revenue per visitor than the original².

If you are building a new store, follow the five tips below as you create your product pages. Have those pages ready before running ads that send shoppers to them.

If you already have an online store, choose one product page to improve. Reference these steps to check whether it answers shoppers’ questions and lets them add the right item to their cart.

1. Answer shoppers’ questions in the product description

Identify the main question a shopper needs answered before buying. Look for questions customers ask repeatedly or misunderstandings behind returns. For a new product, start with fit, compatibility, or what is included. Confirm the answer against your product specifications, then put it near the start of the description.

For example, consider a pet-supply retailer selling a dog harness. Someone choosing their first harness needs measurements and adjustment details to judge the fit. Someone replacing a harness they already own needs to recognize the same model and size. The page should make both tasks straightforward.

Also, use consistent labels and units across similar products to make comparisons easier. Include limitations, such as incompatible models or items sold separately, so shoppers can rule out an unsuitable purchase.

In e-commerce platform BigCommerce, for instance, online sellers can use the product description and custom fields—additional facts such as material or compatibility—to present these details. Preview the product page to check that shoppers can find the information they need.

Then, use those same facts to help shoppers recognize the item in search results. In BigCommerce’s page title field, use the product name and a relevant detail, such as its model or material. Avoid repeating keywords or giving every product the same title.

2. Give every product image a question to answer

Plan your gallery around what someone needs to inspect. Show the whole product, a useful detail, and the product in use. For example, a lighting retailer could photograph a lamp beside a chair to show its scale and how it lights a reading space. A close-up of the switch shows how someone would operate it. Together, these images help shoppers picture using the lamp at home. Keep written dimensions available as well.

The same Baymard overview describes how shoppers use images to judge size and can struggle when photographs lack a familiar reference.

If you sell a bundle, make clear which pictured items are included. For products that need assembly or demonstration, you might even consider creating a short video. Add alt text: a short description of the useful information in an image. Screen-reader software can read that description aloud or present it in braille. Keep essential instructions available as text as well.

BigCommerce supports product images, images for variants such as different colors, and YouTube-hosted product videos. Check that your gallery presents the right item as shoppers change their selection.

3. Make choices, prices, and recurring charges clear

Keep size, color, quantity, and purchase options close to the buying button. Label them plainly, show the current selection, and make unavailable choices recognizable. If the size options fit on the screen, show them as labeled buttons, such as S, M, and L. This lets shoppers see which sizes are available without opening a menu, as the Baymard overview explains.

Place helpful links beside the choice it explains. For the dog harness, for example, consider putting a measurement guide beside the size selector so shoppers can check the fit before choosing. Keep it visible or provide a clearly labeled link that works by touch and keyboard.

In BigCommerce, online sellers can configure choices such as size and color through product variants and options. Then check that the displayed price and availability match the shopper’s selection. For multipacks, show both the pack total and the unit price. Make the full pack price easy to find so shoppers know what they will be charged.

If you offer subscriptions, let shoppers explicitly choose between a one-time purchase and a recurring order. Put the recurring charge, delivery frequency, and change or cancellation terms beside that choice so shoppers can compare the commitments before selecting. Confirm that these terms match how your subscription service works. Select a subscription yourself and verify that checkout shows the plan, price, and frequency you chose.

4. Make sure delivery, returns, and reviews are easy to find

A shopper who needs an item by a particular date wants to know whether it will arrive in time. Show a delivery estimate for their destination. Put a short explanation of shipping and returns near add to cart, with links to the full policies.

Show shipping fees or explain how they will be calculated. Clearly describe return windows, fees, and exclusions that matter for the item. If pickup is offered, distinguish stock at the selected location from stock elsewhere. Avoid presenting an estimate as a confirmed promise.

Also consider making reassurances that are specific to the purchase. Using the dog harness as an example again, you’d want to explain whether a shopper can exchange it if the fit is wrong and which conditions apply. That answers the practical concerns that a badge saying “Shop with Confidence” leaves unresolved. Use only promises your business can honor.

Customer reviews provide another way to assess the product. Show the review rating, text, reviewer’s display name, and date on the relevant product page. If reviews come from another service, name that service. These details help shoppers understand whose experience they are reading and how recent it is.

5. Test the path from product page to cart

Shoppers need to know that the page has registered their choices and whether adding an item succeeded. Open your chosen product page on your phone. If a required option starts unselected, try adding the item before choosing it. The page should tell you what to select or explain why “Add to cart” is unavailable.

If the product has options, choose them, then change one selection. Check that the price, availability, and any option-specific images match. Add the item. While the request is processing, the page should make that clear. Once it succeeds, a confirmation or the cart itself should show what was added. If an error occurs, it should explain how to continue without losing other selections.

From there, make sure to check the item’s quantity, options, and price in the cart. If you chose a size or color, return to the product page and check whether it still shows that selection. These checks help catch a wrong selection or an uncertain result before a shopper encounters it.

Shoppers who cannot use a mouse need to select options and add products using a keyboard. To check that they can, repeat the steps above on a computer without the mouse. Use Tab to move forward between controls and Shift+Tab to move back. A visible outline or other marker should show which control you are about to use. Press Enter to activate links and Enter or Space for buttons. In a drop-down list, such as a size selector, use the arrow keys to move through the options.

Shoppers who need larger text must still be able to read product details and reach Add to cart. Use the browser’s Zoom control to enlarge the page to 200% and try the same steps again. Check for overlapping text or controls that disappear. Across all these checks, record anything that prevents choosing the product, adding it, or correcting a mistake.

Keep improving one page at a time

Clear facts and images help shoppers judge the product; clear choices, terms, and working controls help them act on that decision. Choose one issue from your review to fix first. Give priority to a problem that prevents adding the correct item to the cart. If shoppers can add the correct item, address an unanswered question that could lead someone to buy the wrong product.

Record what you changed and when. If you have sales reports, compare purchases and revenue for the product over equal periods before and after the change. Note any promotions or changes in visitor numbers that could also explain the results. Customer questions, order corrections, and return reasons can help you check whether the same misunderstanding persists.

For more examples, explore BigCommerce’s product-page guide, then apply the same review to the next product page.

¹^{Product Page UX 2026: 10 Pitfalls and Best Practices}^{(Baymard Institute)
2}^{Media Contour uses split URL testing to improve the revenue from product pages}^(Wingify)