To sometimes ask colleagues questions I already know the answers to in order to make them feel involved and valued?

[ByCoolNewt]

I’m a senior member of my team and I’ve found that sometimes, rather than just making a decision outright or stating facts, I’ll ask colleagues for their input - even when I already know the answer. My thinking is that it helps people feel engaged, involved, and valued, rather than me just dictating everything.

For example, if I know the best course of action for a project but ask, “What do you think we should do here?” it gives others the chance to contribute and feel heard. I feel like this gets people more bought into decisions and makes them more engaged in the team overall.

That said, I know some people don’t like being asked things unnecessarily, and I wonder if it could come across as condescending or performative.

AIBU to do this or is it actually a decent leadership approach?

Well it is performative isn't it? If you've already decided what the best course for a project it. What if they suggest something different? Do you actually take that on board and change what you're doing? People aren't stupid, they know when their input is actually valued by whether it's used or not.

Surely if you’re a leader you already know the answer to this?
If you always direct your team they become dependent on you and don’t think for themselves. You limit the solutions to what you see through your lens.
Encourage ideas and creativity and you not only develop future leaders but often get better ideas than you could think of yourself. Especially if they’re closer to the problem or solution than you are.
This only works if you’ve created a safe environment for people to make suggestions that might not work out though. And they’re not criticised for suggestions.
Empowering your team is always beneficial.

When my colleagues ask me questions I know they know the answers too I feel like they're trying to fob their work onto me and are lazy.

IMO, yes it can make employees feel valued but only if you're genuinely interested in their answer and willing to change your mind if they have a better idea.

If not it comes across as patronising.

We had a director who used to ask this a lot. Our feeling was a. He didn't actually know the answer and didn't want anyone to know that and b. Only did it so he could say he had a coaching style rather than directive. It was very obvious that he didn't care what the response was when asking others for their input.

It would be better leadership if you consider that your team do actually bring valuable ideas and insights to the table. Be honest with them, tell them your plan and ask them for their thoughts on it? And be prepared to adjust your ideas if necessary. A little humility goes a long way.

I once worked for a boss who operated like you do now, and it was all fine and we felt valued, until the day we realised he wasn’t really listening at all and it was all a charade. At that point we felt manipulated and lost all respect for him.

I work in HR and have just concluded an investigation into allegations of bullying due to being asked repeatedly unnecessary questions, and creating additional work and stress. If you genuinely want to be more inclusive of everyone’s input find a genuine situation where you need it - processes that need review or automation, how the office experience could be improved etc

To me it would show to me you don't know your job, stop playing games and get on with it would be simpler

As a junior member of a project team, I think a better approach with the same output is to outline your solution and then ask others for any additional suggestions or just to at least voice whether they agree or not.

What @BlondiePortzsaid and also it will become apparent pretty quickly that you have no interest in their response so you’ll lose any sort of respect. There is also some arrogance in the statement ‘I already know the best way’. There is always a possibility that you don’t and someone else has a valid view point/contribution.

A colleague does this all the time “I’ll just bring X in here”. X then generally looks totally wrong footed and has nothing of value to contribute. There is a better way to change people’s behaviour / encourage input.

Other people are almost certainly not as stupid as you imagine, and this disingenuous behaviour will create mistrust in your team. So if that's what you're aiming for, crack on.

Why don't ypu ask their opinion before you make up your mind? They may have value?

You sound very superior.

I worked for someone who did this. It was not well-received. We all knew what he was up to. For example he would hold a two hour meeting with thirty senior people to discuss promotions. He made it sound like we all had a voice. And then he did exactly what he wanted. After one round of that we could all see through him.

It's both condescending and performative. I would feel like you were testing me rather than involving me in decision making.

If you're sure you have chosen the right course of action in a situation and you have managerial responsibility then it's your job to tell people what to do.

You sound like you have no problem giving instructions but you want people to like you too. You may be senior but it's not the behaviour of a confident manager.

I'd go with, "this is the plan, is there anything I haven't considered?" if I actually wanted colleagues input rather than just sounding like I did.