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“What kind of questions?” asked Ted.
“Look, in your position, as Manager, you often don’t have the technical details necessary to make a decision. As a Manager, that’s not your job. Your job is to bring value to the problem solving and decision making of your team.” I waited for Ted to catch up.
“By asking questions?”
“Most Managers think their team will see them as weak if they have difficulty making a decision, even if the Manager doesn’t have the technical details. So, sometimes, Managers make a decision because they think it’s their job.
“If you have two engineers, each with a different method of solving a problem, you may not know which method is technically the best way.”
“So, how do you make the decision?”
“You don’t bring value by making a decision and telling them what to do. You bring value by asking questions.
- What were the top three criteria on which you based your recommendation?
- What impact will your recommendation have on the time frame of the project?
- What two things could go wrong with your recommendation?
“Your job, as Manager, is not telling people what to do. Your job is to bring value to their problem solving and decision making.”
Absolutely! Speaking from the perspective of a pretty successful non-technical manager at Microsoft, I know this to be true by practice. Be the voice of reason, be the voice that keeps everyone on mission and ask the right questions to make sure people think though everything. Have a broad enough perspective to get people to have one eye on the bigger picture.
I generally agree with this practice, and often introduce a version of this in our management training sessions (something we call the “Counseling Model”). My only word of caution is that this method of “asking questions” – while deeply empowering to some – can be infuriating to others who just want you to resolve their problems for them or connect them with someone who can.
The key for managers is determining for each individual on your team:
(i) Is this person capable of solving their own problem, even with directed questioning from their manager?;
(ii) What are the costs vs. benefits of allowing this person to engage in the struggle when they could be doing other things?; and
(iii) How does this person tend to respond best in interactions with their manager?