Socratic Management

That’s an interesting solution. Why did you choose it?

I have the pleasure of leading a team of very, very smart individuals. While there’s no doubt that I’m lucky to have this opportunity, managing a team of gifted engineers who don’t always agree on the “right” way to solve a problem can be a challenge.

My employees are often smarter than me.

Having employees that challenge the status quo isn’t a mistake—it’s by design. If I don’t think that someone we’re considering could hold their own in their field, I don’t bring them onto the team. There are exceptions to this (such as interns or junior engineers), but as a general rule I want to hire the best people I can.

But how does one manage a team of geniuses?

I’ve been a manger for about two and a half years now, which isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of a career. It wouldn’t be wrong to suggest that I’m still developing my management style. That said, I’ve learned several valuable lessons that (in my opinion) would be helpful to any team lead, regardless of industry.

Other than the (mostly correct) cliches of “lead by example” and “understand your employees,” I’ve reached back into my memory for the most effective teaching style that I experienced during my education: the Socratic method.

Don’t critique—engage!

Many managers are dictators; the kings of their castle. While I can’t allow my team to become a true democracy (we’d get nothing done), any leader that ignores their followers’ opinions is unfit for the role. Rather than berate engineers who do things in a non-standard way, I ask them a simple question: “why did you choose to do it like that?”

Sometimes this is in reference to how an assessment was conducted; sometimes it’s regarding why data was displayed a certain way; sometimes it’s the introduction of something entirely new. Regardless of the context, the question is the same—as is the reasoning behind it. I don’t want to foster a fear of failure or nonconformity, and I certainly don’t want to miss out on a potential improvement because I’m set in my ways.

The goal is quality, not power.

There are several benefits to Socratic management techniques, but the most pronounced goes back to the end goal of a manager. As a leader, your priorities should be twofold: (1) helping your employees succeed to the best of their abilities and (2) helping your organization to be the absolute best it can.

Managers who forget (or never learned) these priorities, and instead look out only for themselves, are not performing at a level worthy of the responsibilities bestowed upon them.

Socratic management helps me achieve both of these goals.

First, my engineers learn to think critically about the decisions that they make. They’re not afraid to make mistakes, as long as those mistakes can be justified later. No one’s perfect, but as long as decisions are well thought out, they have the chance to defend their actions. As long as a decision was reasonable, there are no negative consequences involved with making mistakes. Employees that truly put thought into how they’re solving problems are (somewhat obviously) more likely to succeed. When my engineers succeed, I do too.

Second, an organization should constantly strive to improve. Businesses that remain static in their services—such as a software company that fires its developers once the product is completed—will not be successful (or, at least, not for very long). In encouraging employees to make “dangerous” suggestions for improving our deliverables, we’re effectively telling them that it’s okay to iterate on our product.

Needless to say, not everyone will respond positively to this management style; as with any relationship, different people behave in different ways. For me and most of my team, however, this has been the single most valuable tactic I’ve learned.