How do you ensure everyone in the team feels empowered to contribute to a discussion?
Rucha Joshi
12 replies
Whether it is an ideation workshop, creating the next roadmap collaboratively or just a plain old this vs that decision - how do you create an environment where everyone feels comfortable putting forth their opinions or ideas?
Replies
Misha Krunic@price2spy
That's a good question. I guess different people face different obstacles when it comes to putting forth their ideas.
The first thing that comes to my mind is active listening and addressing what has been suggested.
For example, I propose X because of Y and implement it in the Z way. Disagreeing in this situation can serve a good purpose of proving that the environment is accepting of the new ideas, even if a good number of them doesn't actually get put into reality.
It's about the way these suggestions are addressed. You can, for example, say "I definitely like X, but Y isn't what we're focusing on in this period, and Z doesn't really work with our technologies". This is just an example, but I think you get the point.
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There are a few things you can do to ensure that everyone in the team feels empowered to contribute to a discussion:
1. Make sure everyone has a chance to speak.
Don't allow one person to dominate the conversation. Make sure everyone has an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas.
2. Encourage everyone to contribute.
Make sure everyone knows that their contributions are valued and appreciated.
We do meetings every Monday. Our CEO keeps notes of everything we discuss and listens carefully to our suggestions/ideas.
This makes us feel more empowered especially when the ideas/suggestions are taken in consideration and implemented.
In my team, I encourage the quietest ones to take the lead. It takes a while to get them going, but eventually they do, and it is a great step in the right direction.
I think it starts by making sure you haven’t made them feel excluded in the past and correcting that, if so.
Second to that is making the process asynchronous. Not everyone wants to shine in a big meeting, they want to think through ideas and put together their thoughts. Having a document/platform that allows that is a life saver.
Find out the communication style of every member of the team. Some like to chat in groups, others in writing or one on one. Make sure they feel valued!
Hey Rucha, we ensure that we hire leaders and not bosses. Leaders are highly empathetic who talk less and listen more to their team members. Would love to know your thoughts.