“I really feel awkward standing up in front of the group. I ask them a question and often, they just stare at me, like no one has a clue. I want them to participate, but they just don’t respond,” said Rosa. As the manager in her department, she had been trying to get more participation through team problem solving.
“Why don’t you think they speak up?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Rosa continued. “I suppose they might be embarrassed or afraid someone will think their idea is stupid.”
“I think you are right. Fear can be very powerful. It can keep people from risking their ideas in front of a group. So, how can you reduce the fear?”
Rosa pondered the question, and then responded. “I guess I have to create a safe place, so no idea comes across as a stupid idea.”
I smiled and jumped in. “Here is something I often use. Before I ask people to respond in front of a group, I always ask them to write their ideas on paper. I call it, priming the pump. And if the group is a large group, I always bust it up into smaller teams. People are more willing to share their ideas in a small group than in a large group. Once everyone has shared their ideas in a small team, only then do I ask each team to report to the larger group. By then, most of the ideas are anonymous and the risk of embarrassment has virtually disappeared.
“When you engage your team in problem solving, an important job for the leader is to drive fear out of the room.” -TF
Good points! The same approach works for a group leader to engage associates over the long term. To remain engaged (involved with heart and mind), one must learn to receive feedback from their own daily activities.
To accomplish this we have discovered five-steps which a group can practice together. Point these actions toward the group’s customers or beneficiaries of their efforts:
1. Thanking – to recognize
2. Invite – to demonstrate intentions
3. Ask critical questions – for awareness
4. Get Feedback – from the groups daily activities
5. Share – for assessments to build a dialogue.
Simply repeat the steps for a cycle of engagement.
George,
Thank you for sharing this process. Getting engagement from team members is a critical function of the Manager. Using a process like this creates consistency. Managers can sometimes stumble into “engagement,” but the question is, “how can I create engagement on a consistent basis?” This process should work well.
Thanks for the post, Tom.
Over the years I’ve become a big fan of the nominal group technique. It includes a ‘write things down’ first step as well. I’ve found that this technique works wonders at helping a team combine divergent ideas in a time effective way.
Here is an overview of the Nominal Group Technique.
And a related post on my blog.
John
Hey, John,
Thanks for the link over to your site. I especially like the picture of Darth. Tingles my right brain.