The Socratic Method in Leadership Positions: Teaching, Psychotherapy and Supervision

Abstract

Leadership can play an important role in classroom teaching, psychotherapy sessions and supervisory meetings. Recent work on the Socratic method has identified useful strategies derived from an integration of ancient philosophy and contemporary psychology. The nine core elements of the Socratic method can be organized into process and content. The five process elements include the use of systematic questioning, inductive reasoning, a disavowal of knowledge, guided discovery, and brief sequences. The four content areas include a focus on universal definitions, self-Improvement, virtue ethics, and core beliefs. Finally, the Socratic method has been useful for leadership skills in three different areas: classroom teaching, psychotherapy sessions, and supervisory meetings. Each leadership style will be discussed long with a metaphor to help clarify the Socratic style of leadership.