The best meetings are inclusive meetings. They elicit contributions from everyone attending, promote robust discussion, and get more ideas and perspectives into the mix. Note: “best” does not necessarily mean “fastest.” Nevertheless, “best” generally results in fewer maddening meetings that yield little progress.
To improve participation and the quality of discussions, set the stage for everyone to contribute. Understand what holds some back from more fully engaging and make it everyone’s shared responsibility to draw each other into discussions. Here’s how.
The prevalent assumption about the reserved folks is that they’re disinterested. Others may amp up their contributions to fill in the gaps left by the reserved folks who take longer to contribute or aren’t ready before the topic shifts. The assumption and its domino effect only serve to make it even more challenging to get to more inclusive meetings.
Rather than making assumptions or accepting that some simply don’t or won’t participate, evaluate your meetings. The objective here is to determine what could be done differently to make meetings more inclusive. An objective, honest evaluation includes these five questions.
A long list of agenda items inhibits dialogue. You may be moving through too much too fast and imposing time pressures that inhibit dialogue.
To create more opportunities for participation, send the agenda in advance and note which items are intended for “deep dive” discussion. That way, those who need time to think and prepare can do so in advance. For important discussions, have single-topic focused meetings.
To encourage participation, let people know in advance what you need and expect from them. Do this individually. For example, “I’m eager to hear your thoughts on what’s missing in this analysis because you have such a strong background in complex matters like this.” When people do participate, encourage more of the same by showing appreciation and linking their contributions to successful meeting outcomes. For example, “When you asked that question, the conversation shifted. I appreciate your perspective and how it got us to think in new ways and avoid making a mistake.”
Cultural norms in an organization or team may not serve you well. New members of the team may feel intimidated by these norms or uncertain about how to insert their ideas. Left unchecked, the same few will likely over-participate while others go along just because they think that’s what is expected.
Communicating about what’s preferred can help reset these norms. For example, “This is an important decision so we need to hear from everyone before jumping to solution mode.”
Saying you expect meetings to be inclusive is one thing. But actions speak louder than words. Participation may inadvertently be shut down by frequently glancing at your watch, saying things like “we always do it this way,” using body language that conveys impatience or disagreement, having strong negative reactions when people offer differing ideas, and embarrassing people when their input is not perfectly informed or eloquent.
People respond to both positive and negative reactions. When comments and questions are received openly and affirmed, it motivates people to participate more. Conversely, when people feel penalized for asking the “wrong” question or for disagreeing, they will be demotivated and less likely to participate.
To make meetings more inclusive, team members must be genuinely interested in and open to questions and ideas that challenge their own way of thinking.
People watch what others do. They follow others’ examples, especially those that yield positive results.
Look for opportunities to model speaking up (even when it feels risky). Look for ways to be an example of including others in ways that are productive and beneficial.
If you see examples of team members shutting others down, help them to understand the impact of their actions.
Positive and productive meeting cultures start with shared responsibility. It’s everyone’s job to involve everyone else in team discussions. It’s not the sole responsibility of the team leader or meeting facilitator to engage everyone present.
Similarly, it’s the responsibility of each team member to find comfortable ways to contribute to meetings. To read more about this responsibility and the other essentials of meeting etiquette, click here for another post in this series about how to fix miserable meetings.
To become more intentional about including others, recognize that there are four levels in a continuum ranging from actively excluding others to actively including others. Here again, honest self-appraisal will help you determine where your opportunities for improvement are.
This happens for a variety of reasons. When you feel strongly about an issue and don’t want others to be swayed by someone who feels differently, you might take measures to actively exclude that individual. Or you may feel protective of someone and jump in to speak for them. It could happen because you dislike another person, don’t understand or trust that person, or simply haven’t developed respect for what they might offer. Active exclusion looks like:
Not all exclusion is intentional. Sometimes we mean well but don’t recognize our unconscious biases or behaviors. When we make choices to expedite discussions, for example, one of the unintended consequences is that some were excluded. Check yourself for:
An “A” for effort still leaves room for improvement! Those who are extroverted may believe that someone who’s not participating just needs to be given the floor. But those who are more introverted don’t feel comfortable being thrust into the spotlight before they’ve fully formed their thoughts. Tactics like these, even when well-intended, can backfire:
To become more effective in conducting inclusive meetings, make these choices more often:
Everyone can engage others in a meeting. From meeting set-up to meeting follow-up, there are simple tactics that can make meetings more inclusive. Use these simple tips for starters:
Use assessments, discussions, and team-building workshops to boost awareness about and understanding of:
Inclusive meetings provide better outcomes. They also engage team members, create a sense of belonging in the workplace, and enrich each individual’s experience and knowledge.
If your meetings are consistently conflict-free with quick agreement, beware. Those meetings are usually the least inclusive, and the hidden consequences and missed opportunities can be costly.