Ways To Balance Participation In Group Brainstorming

I used to struggle to share my ideas in meetings bustling with dominant voices. Not because I was scared, but because I never felt comfortable. Ouch. My seniors and peers often told me: "Speak up, have a presence, be bold!" Well-intentioned advice. But the brutal truth was that I didn’t feel psychologically safe. So when I took on the role of a people manager, I became the leader I needed. I took on a mission to create a safe space where every team member could share their brilliance, their quirks, their questions, their doubts and feel heard. Here are 3 rarely-used strategies I adopted: ✅ Silent brainstorming: I replaced vocal discussions with written ideas; preventing the loudest voice from dominating. We'd share our thoughts by ideating in silence and voting together.🚀 The best part? No one knew whose idea was winning, leveling the playing field for diverse perspectives. ✅One-pagers for every meeting: People process information differently. To include everyone, I ensured every meeting had a one-pager for context and a list of attendees. This way, team members could prepare in their own way, and those who felt their presence wasn't essential could choose to opt-out. ✅ Mini Workshops > Meetings: These mini workshops were designed to encourage deep thinking, collaborative brainstorming, and silent reflection. Everyone had their moment to shine. We always left with 1-3 actionable takeaways — co-created and ready for implementation. 🚀 In the end, it wasn't about changing my personality; it was about embracing it and finding innovative ways to lead effectively. 💪 By creating a safe space for my team, I not only unlocked their potential but also learned the true power of silence in a world that often favors the loudest voices. What do you think about this leadership style? #leadership #product #teammanagement #womenintech #productmanagement #productmanager

𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠. I used to believe that a good Scrum Master treats everyone equally—gives everyone the same space, asks the same questions, and engages everyone the same way. I was wrong. Because the truth is, not everyone on your team processes information the same way. Some people think out loud. They dominate discussions, throw out half-formed ideas, and love fast-paced brainstorming. Others think in silence. They analyze, reflect, and won’t speak until they’re confident in their response. So when I ran retros and only the loudest voices dominated the conversation, I thought, “Well, I gave everyone a chance to speak.” But what about the people who needed time to process? What about the ones who were hesitant to share their ideas in front of a group? What about the voices that got drowned out—not because they didn’t have ideas, but because they weren’t invited into the conversation in a way that worked for them? Here’s what I learned about engaging different personalities on a team: 1️⃣ The Outspoken Contributors – Give them space, but guide the conversation. If they dominate discussions, gently redirect: “I love your perspective—let’s hear from someone who hasn’t spoken yet.” 2️⃣ The Quiet Thinkers – Give them time to process. Instead of asking for instant answers in a meeting, send questions in advance or provide a space for written feedback. 3️⃣ The Skeptics – These are the ones who challenge ideas. Instead of shutting them down, reframe their resistance as a strength: “You’ve raised a great risk—how do you think we can mitigate it?” 4️⃣ The Overwhelmed or Disengaged – If someone isn’t contributing, don’t assume they have nothing to say. Check in with them privately: “I’ve noticed you’ve been quiet—anything on your mind?” Sometimes the best insights come in one-on-one conversations. 5️⃣ The High Performers – These individuals push hard, deliver fast, and sometimes get frustrated with the pace of others. Remind them that a strong team wins together—not as individuals. The moment I stopped treating my team as one-size-fits-all, engagement skyrocketed. Because here’s the thing: ✅ Some people need the mic. Others need an invitation. ✅ Some people speak in meetings. Others speak in private. ✅ Your job isn’t to force everyone to engage the same way—it’s to create a space where every voice is heard. A quiet team isn’t always an engaged team. And a loud team isn’t always a productive one. 💡 So ask yourself: Are you really hearing everyone? Or just the ones who speak first? #ScrumMaster #Leadership #Agile #TeamDynamics #Communication

Earlier this year, I facilitated a strategy session where one person’s voice dominated while quiet team members retreated into their shells. Halfway through, I paused, put everyone into small groups, and gave them roles to pick up. Here's how it works: 1️⃣ Assign Roles: Each small group had a Questioner, Connector, and Synthesizer. - Questioner: Probes deeper and asks clarifying, “why?” and “how?” questions. - Connector: Links ideas across people, points out overlaps and sparks “aha” moments. - Synthesizer: Distills discussion into concise insights and next-step recommendations. 2️⃣ Clarify Focus: Groups tackled one critical topic (e.g., “How might we streamline on-boarding?”) for 10 minutes. 3️⃣ Reconvene & Share: Each group’s Synthesizer distilled insights in 60 seconds. The result? Silent participants suddenly spoke up, ideas flowed more freely, and we landed on three actionable priorities in our timebox. Next time you sense a lull in your meeting/session/workshop, try role-based breakouts. #Facilitation #Breakouts #TeamEngagement #ActiveParticipation Sutey Coaching & Consulting --------------------------------------------- ☕ Curious to dive deeper? Let’s connect. https://lnkd.in/gGJjcffw

Structure group brainstorms for diversity of thought. Some people prefer to spitball. Some people prefer to stew. Not everyone performs well in an unstructured environment, batting ideas around a table. Here's a structure I've found helpful for group brainstorms: 1. Have a set of prompts / questions 2. Give everyone quiet focused time to answer the prompts 3. Open the floor for discussion of the answers 4. Moderate the conversation to hear from everyone 5. Have everyone vote on what answer resonates with them most I like this approach, because it allows people to either generate a ton of ideas / answers or to really marinate on one or two. The discussion aspect allows back and forth, to build off of ideas or connect to other threads. Then, we have an opportunity for everyone to vote on what they like the best, so that we don't have the loudest voice or the most senior person deciding how we move forward. It allows the group to decide.