3 ms·
I've learned to ask questions instead of utilizing call-out culture. I can ask what some component is doing, strategy to scale, etc... That usually works very w
by kodah 5y ago
I've learned to ask questions instead of utilizing call-out culture. I can ask what some component is doing, strategy to scale, etc... That usually works very well in place of me saying that I perceive something is "wrong".
Example
I saw empathy in the tags. How does empathy apply to this post?
- pjc50 5y agoYes, this a very good approach - it gives people the opportunity to double check and spot it themselves, and it gives you an out if you're wrong. Bit of the old socratic dialogue.
- sitkack 5y agoOne has to be very careful with socratic techniques, they can quickly become trite, patronizing and segue nicely into splaining. They are extremely useful and help give space to the state of things, but if the people you are interacting with ever felt like they are being led down a garden path, it can feel like a big setup to getting owned. This advise comes from working on teams where the socratic method was used as a setup for being made a fool.
- rocqua 5y agoEmpathy applies in two ways. Firstly in realizing that saying 'you are wrong' is hurtful and can be damaging to relationships. Secondly in realizing that other people might already know your objection, but had reasons for proceeding this way anyway.
- kodah 5y agoI'd argue that "you are wrong" can be hurtful, rather than is. It's all about delivery, the culture/environment you're in, and how receptive a person is to negative feedback. The second point is a great way to encourage silencing dissent. Interrogating why people made decisions is part of both science and engineering. Assuming they made all the right choices sounds odd to me.