Good managers speak last
Good managers are astutely aware that they are in a unique situation of influencing their team's thinking.
Good managers use this power asymmetry to encourage critical thinking by:
- speaking last so that everyone gets to share their thoughts
- expressing vulnerability when sharing an idea for example, asking a team member "since you are the expert, what do you think?" or "I am not sure this is the only way..."
- letting some of the members play the role of a devil's advocate i.e. to critically evaluate an idea or a thought
- requesting relatively less experienced members to speak first
- asking for advice and not projecting their thoughts on to others
