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Carrie Crawford's avatar

I taught this when I was a teacher. The leader or teacher needs to really prepare for Socratic discussion and know each learning/working/thinking styles of each team member. Not many people want to work this hard because it takes time and focus. Some of my students liked it because they loved learning and thinking differently. Most students thought it was a pain because it took so long. The benefits of Socratic thinking are correct in your article, but I don't see many leaders doing it in this fast-paced business culture. Thank you for the article.

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Joe Loughery's avatar

Good morning Carrie,

It can certainly be useful.

Learning to think for one's self takes years.

It's not an overnight exercise.

I believe in the retail landscape; teaching and training is imperative. A lot of business requires persistence and perseverance.

A lot of the times the Socratic method approach comes off as the person being a smart a$$. While this is not always the intent. Unfortunately, it is what it is. The men and women I have worked with aren't there for an education. They simply wish to do their job, AND make money.

It's the boss's job to aid them and clear obstacles. Not to stroke their ego.

Thank you for your time.

-Joe

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Bob Price's avatar

Here is an example I included in one of my articles...https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lifes-filter-bob-price-xbwce/

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David C Morris's avatar

I like your counterexample idea. I'm going to introduce more of that into my leadership diet.

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Joe Loughery's avatar

Good points.

You give some solid examples.

I often default to this tactic.

I don't encourage it as a strategy though

After all, remember what happened to Socrates;).

Thank you for your time.

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