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Calling on quiet (but attentive) members of my team to speak up in meetings where we need to make a decision. There will be a pause in the conversation and (as
by thomk 7y ago
Calling on quiet (but attentive) members of my team to speak up in meetings where we need to make a decision.
There will be a pause in the conversation and (as if its my meeting) I'll say something like generic "Jim what do you think?" No matter what he says I acknowledge it and thank him.
A few things happen.
1. It removes the internal conflict Jim was having if he should speak up or not.
2. It gives him 'the floor' so he knows for a minute he will be heard. Others are probably wondering why I called on him and want to hear what he has to say.
3. His answer might not be directly related, however it often sets off a chain of conversation that often does lead to creative answers.
People actually do like to contribute. The way I look at it is we're not leaving this room until I feel like we have at least heard every idea good or bad. Those set of ideas are our collective intelligence at that moment and I fully intend on leveraging it.
- lastpost93 7y agoCoincidentally, there’s an interview with Tim Cook where he mentions this exact concept when asked about leadership. https://youtu.be/9jhPm_2WYH8 https://youtu.be/9jhPm_2WYH8 24:00
- volkk 7y agohow can you tell they're attentive?
- thomk 7y agoIt's obvious they are listening to what is going on. They aren't looking at screens or doodling. My rule is if in you are in my meeting: you should be there and are a valuable member of a team, so let's see what you think.
- muzani 7y agoYou can tell by body language normally. There's a kind of look when someone is off thinking about other things, and there's another kind of look when they're listening to every word.
- reinkaos 7y agoThanks for that. I'm one of the "Jims" of the world and one of my superiors started doing that to me recently. As an introvert in a team of very talkative and opinionated people it is often hard to speak up. Having other people creating space for me to speak has been very helpful.