Note: this is a series of weekly tips to build a functional, collaborative, aligned team.
Tip: Ask Your Team to Write Down Their Ideas and Opinions
This week’s tip is super simple and takes no time to implement. If you are reading this right before a team meeting, you can implement it immediately in your meeting.
The tip is to ask your team to write down their opinions and ideas, before you ask them to share their opinions and ideas.
This tip comes from Jason LaVasseur, a fellow professional speaker. Jason and I were speaking on the same day for the same group a couple of weeks ago and he reminded me of the value of asking people to write down their ideas and opinions.
Some people find it easy to hear a question, think about the answer in their head, and articulate it out loud. But many of us, me included, have a harder time. We need time and space to think about our answers. Writing it down really helps us.
In addition, have you ever been in a meeting where you asked people for feedback and just got blank stares or limited engagement? That is a problem because you need everyone to share their opinions openly and feel like they have been heard. You will get more engagement by asking people “what did you write down?” as opposed to “what do you think about…?” As a team member, now all I must do is read what I already wrote down on the paper or 3-by-5 card in front of me.
Easy tip. Use it today and let me know if you get more team engagement, opinions, and ideas.
Go build a functional, collaborative, aligned team!
