Team Member With Good Ideas Too Quiet

by Denise O'Berry

We have one team member who never says anything in team meetings, yet after the meeting this person is full of ideas. How do we get them to share ideas during the meeting?

The Team Doc Says…

No matter how long a team has been together, there’s always one member who feels more comfortable sharing information in a smaller group. That’s probably what’s happening here.

To eliminate the problem, try breaking up your team into small groups of two to three people when seeking ideas or answers to a problem then bring the whole group back together to select the best solution. You might also want to try having team members write their ideas and submit them. That should get you over this stumbling block.

Many team members take longer to process information than others. To get their quality ideas, you need to give them the opportunity to use that processing time. These techniques should help.

Best regards,

Denise O’Berry
aka ‘Team Doc’

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More info on this topic at:

  1. Add Discussion Value If You’re The Facilitator
  2. How To Pull Together The Pieces of a Fragmented Team
  3. How to Eliminate Finger Pointing Between Shifts
  4. Hi! I’m Your New Team Member — What Now?
  5. What To Do When Your Team Falls Apart While You’re Gone

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