Have you ever found yourself running team meetings where only SOME of the team seem to be engaged and contributing? And no matter what you try in the meeting, some of the team members, particularly the quieter ones, never seem to have ideas to offer? You are not alone, it is more common than you think.
Now there can be many reasons why people don’t feel engaged in meetings - maybe the subject matter is dull, perhaps the person has other matters on their mind. However it is also quite likely, that some of your team members are not contributing because they don’t feel included.
Meetings, by their very nature, do tend to favour those with a preference for extraversion, who can think out loud and are willing to speak up in a group situation. Being inclusive as a leader also means considering all the different personality styles within your team and ensuring that everyone feels able to contribute.
If you have a diverse team, with a mix of Introversion and Extraversion preferences* – you need to rethink how you manage your team meetings to get the best out of everyone in your team.
Here are some Top Tips:
Why not try some of these for your next team meeting and see if it improves the contributions from your team members?
*Introversion and Extraversion are terms from MBTI - a personality tool which can assist teams and leaders improve their communication, working relationships and decision making.
Aspire HR Ltd is a training and development consultancy, specialising in leadership and management. We offer MBTI profiling, leadership programmes, short workshops and coaching to support new and experienced leaders be successful in leading their teams to perform at their best. www.aspirehrltd.co.uk
Now there can be many reasons why people don’t feel engaged in meetings - maybe the subject matter is dull, perhaps the person has other matters on their mind. However it is also quite likely, that some of your team members are not contributing because they don’t feel included.
Meetings, by their very nature, do tend to favour those with a preference for extraversion, who can think out loud and are willing to speak up in a group situation. Being inclusive as a leader also means considering all the different personality styles within your team and ensuring that everyone feels able to contribute.
If you have a diverse team, with a mix of Introversion and Extraversion preferences* – you need to rethink how you manage your team meetings to get the best out of everyone in your team.
Here are some Top Tips:
- Send out Agenda Topics in advance of the meeting, allowing people to think about their ideas in advance of the meeting
- Ask individuals, in advance of the meeting, to prepare a contribution
- Rotate who chairs the meetings around the team members
- Use different techniques in the meeting to encourage individuals to contribute
- Ask for individual ideas and responses to something on post it notes or on a white board
- Split into smaller groups for discussion and gather collective feedback - Facilitate large group conversations to avoid repeated points
- Give your own opinion after everyone else
- Appreciate all the contributions, evaluate ideas after the meeting
Why not try some of these for your next team meeting and see if it improves the contributions from your team members?
*Introversion and Extraversion are terms from MBTI - a personality tool which can assist teams and leaders improve their communication, working relationships and decision making.
Aspire HR Ltd is a training and development consultancy, specialising in leadership and management. We offer MBTI profiling, leadership programmes, short workshops and coaching to support new and experienced leaders be successful in leading their teams to perform at their best. www.aspirehrltd.co.uk
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