While it’s
every member’s responsibility to contribute, you can do a
number of things to encourage others to be more involved. The
"basics" include:
It can also be
very effective to openly ask for input from "low
contributors" and to always communicate your understanding
of the merit of others’ ideas. Also – be careful not to
judge other people’s ideas prematurely, and try to build on
the ideas of others whenever you can. Building on ideas improves
the quality of the team’s overall efforts, and it shows people
you value their contributions.
In addition to
maintaining an "attitude of inquiry" by suspending
judgment and demonstrating the value in what others say by
acknowledging their good ideas and building on them, the way you
handle conflict can also make a difference. The fastest way to
shut down participation is by letting conflict get out of hand.
Therefore, to keep participation strong, make it a rule to see
to it that everyone always engages only in "good
conflict" – the kind of managed, respectful conflict that
is part of the process of innovation and creative problem
solving and the basis for building consensus.
