Your team probably has a mix of personalities. Some might be quick to speak while others may be more reserved. The outspoken staff members don’t usually need a nudge to talk in meetings, but those with less outgoing personalities may need a little extra encouragement to chime in.
Leadership expert Joel Garfinkle says that when leaders encourage employees to participate, they not only boost engagement but elevate discussions to whole new levels of insight and innovation. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share Garfinkle’s top tips for inspiring your staff members — even the less-talkative ones — to speak up more often.
1. Reiterate that you want to hear from them. Make sure everyone knows the purpose of the meeting is to gather diverse ideas and perspectives. Garfinkle says you could share examples of how past contributions positively impacted the team.
2. Model the behavior you want to see. Want your reserved employees to share their ideas? Be open and honest yourself. Maybe even share a quick example of a past mistake and how you resolved it.
3. Collect ideas and create a formal agenda. Garfinkle suggests gathering everyone’s input before the meeting and building it into the agenda. Consider highlighting each employee’s name next to their agenda item to recognize their contributions.
4. Provide pre-read materials. Sending information in advance gives everyone a chance to review the materials and think of any questions or insight they may want to share.
5. Assign pre-meeting tasks. Garfinkle says it’s a good idea to ask employees to bring written ideas or solutions to the meeting. You can rotate responsibility for presenting on key topics to encourage active engagement.
6. Use round-robin responses. Ask a question and give each team member 1 or 2 minutes to share their perspective. You can let team members pass if they’re not ready, Garfinkle says, but circle back to them later in the meeting.
7. Break into pairs or small groups. If you have a large team, you may want to break into smaller groups and have each small group report back to the entire gathering. This can sometimes make less-outgoing employees feel more comfortable contributing their thoughts.
When everyone feels comfortable speaking up in team meetings, you’ll likely benefit from richer, more thoughtful discussions. Try some of the ideas above to inspire your team members to chime in more often.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Joel Garfinkle is one of the nation’s top 50 personal leadership coaches. He’s also the author of 8 books.
