Encouraging Others to Amplify Their Voices
Cathie Leimbach • May 2, 2023
Too frequently, leaders make workplace decisions with inadequate information. A group decision may be based on only the leader’s preferences and experience. It may serve the leader’s personality style and ignore the emotional or functional impact of team members. The organization fails to experience the benefits of group collaboration.
Many employees have tried to speak up, only to have their input ignored, so they have stopped offering ideas. They do their work but keep their great ideas to themselves. What can you do to encourage team members to share their insights, experience, and preferences for higher quality decision-making and stronger organizational results?
Let’s consider 5 ways you can encourage others to speak up in workplace meetings.
- Let your team members know you want to hear their ideas. Tell them in group meetings, by email, or during one-on-one conversations that you want their input on workplace matters.
- During meetings, ask your team members to share their thoughts on an agenda item before you share your own. This usually brings out a variety of information rather than everyone simply agreeing with your thinking.
- Call on team members individually. Share the meeting topics a day or two before each meeting and ask them to be ready to share their perspective on each topic. During the meeting call each person by name and ask them to share their thoughts.
- Listen to what each person says. Acknowledge their contribution by paraphrasing it or asking an open-ended question to learn more.
- Show you value their input. Thank them for sharing. Put their best ideas into practice and let them know why the others aren’t being implemented.
As the leader, be intentional about amplifying other people’s voices. They will experience more job satisfaction and buy-in. Your decisions will be more informed. And, the organization will be more successful.
In most organizations, the instinct is to add —more goals, more projects, more meetings. But as Juliet Funt, founder of the Juliet Funt Group, teaches in her Strategic Choice process, real leadership strength lies in deciding what to stop doing . Strategic Choice is the intentional narrowing of priorities—cutting away the clutter so teams can focus on what truly drives results. It’s a disciplined act of letting go: saying no to good ideas so there’s room for the great ones. Funt’s approach challenges leaders to pause, think, and create the mental and operational space their people need to perform at their best. By removing unnecessary tasks and misplaced effort, leaders make room for precision, innovation, and real thinking time. This isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters most. When businesses adopt this mindset, they replace overwhelm with clarity and regain control of their time, energy, and outcomes. For small to mid-sized companies, embracing Strategic Choice can transform busyness into focus—and that focus is where sustainable growth begins. Want a quick visual overview? View Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters to see how this process helps leaders focus on what truly drives results.
Hey team leaders! Ever wonder why some companies soar while others stumble? Patrick Lencioni's bestseller, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team , nails it: workplace dysfunctions such as no trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoiding accountability, and ignoring results lead to mediocre performance at best. But here's the good news—smart leadership development changes the game! Start with building trust . Train leaders to open up and be vulnerable. Teams bond, ideas flow, and costly mistakes drop. Next, embrace healthy conflict . Teach team leaders to make it safe for team members to share the pros and cons of current or new ways of doing things. This helps everyone understand different perspectives. Then, drive commitment . Leaders who clarify goals, ask everyone to share their level of buy-in, and address their concerns get everyone bought in. People focus on high value work and get more done. . Hold folks accountable through coaching. Leaders learn to give kind, direct feedback by praising good work and calmly providing more training as needed. Turnover plummets and the quality and quantity of work improves. Finally, focus on results . Be clear on expectations. Keep score by monitoring progress weekly or daily. Acknowledge team wins when the goals are met. Winning sports teams pay attention to these Five Behaviors of a Team. How would a World Series winner have been determined this week without trust among the players and coaches, openness to tough coaching, the whole team working together, players focusing on their specific positions, and getting players around the bases to get the top score? Every workplace can benefit from these team behaviors as well. Lencioni's research proves it: Companies who prepare their leaders to overcome these 5 common workplace dysfunctions, improve the culture and see huge financial gains. Invest in your leaders today. Your bottom line will thank you! Click here to learn more about the painful cost of team dysfunction.