How should a decision be made in the workplace? When we imagine the moment before this happens, we might see a boss alone in a huge office, frowning with concern in the silence that accompanies deep thought. But, casting aside this almost cinematic image, the reality is that the person responsible for an important decision, especially in business, rarely undergoes such a solitary process. The decision is usually taken as a result of the form of teamwork that is so common and fundamental to our lives: conversation.
What will I learn from this article?
In Plato’s dialogs, the master Socrates uses the technique of maieutics to enable students to acquire knowledge. The term, related etymologically to the word “midwifery”, consists of guiding a conversation so that the interlocutors, contrasting viewpoints and casting light on contradictions and nuances in their opinions, manage to “give birth” to the truth so desired. As such, the assumption is that the individual doesn’t have unique access to the truth, but needs the help of others in order to discover it.
Socrates believed that the individual doesn’t have unique access to the truth, but needs the help of others in order to discover it
Conversation, especially with people we trust, can represent a before and after in our insight and help us know what is true and, in some cases, what we need and don’t need. Clarifying our ideas, developing perspective and observing the factors that don’t seem to be so important to us, but are for others, and vice-versa, are elements that, emerging in the conversation, become essential to making a good decision. The knowledge method developed by Socrates and written up by Plato has been employed by other thinkers such as Jacques Lacan, who used them in psychoanalytical sessions with his patients so that they could clarify their needs and particular truths. Today, neuroscience teaches us that conversation is not only one of the greatest pleasures in life, but also makes the difference between a limited, partial decision and one that is whole and has the desired impact.
Conversation, especially with people we trust, can represent a before and after in our insight
Mariano Sigman, renowned expert in decision-making and human communication, has argued on various occasions for the power of conversation when forming our cosmic views and improving our decision-making. Although many decisions about whether or not to do something are taken subconsciously, voicing them aloud and sharing them with another or others can change them radically. Talking with others about a decision we wish to take obliges us to be aware of what we are going to do and to order our ideas and view them from the outside, identifying weak points in our own reasoning and spotting the holes. The process always works when the conversation is well planned and led in the dialectic way Socrates suggested.
For Sigman, who describes conversation as a kind of laboratory to test our ideas, talking about them is the only way to order and nuance our reasoning.
But a conversation in which we start from the objective of convincing the other person of our arguments is of no use. Curiosity, the desire to discover the world from the perspectives of others, separates a bad conversation from one that advances and is useful for the participants.
Sigman stressed the importance of treating others and ourselves well, with respect as the necessary starting point for a useful conversation. The different viewpoints a team can offers us, including different generations and diversities, ensure that the decision taken with their inputs is more whole and relevant than if we were to take into account only ourselves and our own cosmic views. It’s important to develop empathy, clear communication skills and openness so that participants feel trust and the ability to contribute their own ideas and nuances sincerely. Eulogizing doubt, as Sigman put it, and understanding that neither we nor others monopolize knowledge, but that it lies somewhere in between us, can make the difference to all our decision-making.
No-one possesses the truth, nor does anyone lack it. As such, and as philosophers from Socrates to Sigman have indicated, decisions should not be the prerogative of a solitary individual, but from discussions with a diverse team which, in clear and confident language, expresses distinct viewpoints to arrive at the beautiful “birth” of knowledge.
Dalia Alonso holds a degree in Classical Philology from the University of Oviedo. Her writing reflects a thoughtful approach to major social and business challenges. She is currently an editor at Ethic magazine, where she covers topics such as leadership, productivity, and social and workplace transformation. She has also worked in strategic communications and storytelling for various organisations, helping to craft narratives that resonate with corporate values.