Home
>
Team Building
>
How To Encourage Ideas From Your Team At Meetings

How To Encourage Ideas From Your Team At Meetings

You're at a meeting with key staff. You want some new ideas to address the topic. Looking around at this group of creative, ambitious, bright people, you say, "Let's get some fresh ideas on this. Who's got something?"

Suddenly,you feel like the high-school teacher who has asked a question about the homework no one did. People find their notepads fascinating, others fumble in their briefcases muttering things no one can hear, still others stare into space seeming lost in thought. No one is looking at you.

What's going on?

There are many reasons for this unproductive response to your query. In my many years of working with groups,I've found the reason most often is one of these:

1. People are afraid of looking like idiots in front of bosses and peers.

2. They don't entirely understand the question or the topic itself.

3. They worry their ideas are not "fresh" enough or "new" enough for you and offering them will subject them to criticism (and might even show up on their performance review).

4. They've seen others who gave ideas be attacked and embarrassed and don't want to join that elite club.

5. They didn't realize this was to be an interactive discussion and were thinking about other work and waiting for the meeting to end. They're now caught unprepared.

6. Caught off-guard, their minds are blank.

What can you do to change this situation?

If you could re-do the meeting from the start, you might send out an agenda and indicate on it or the cover note that you'd like people to bring ideas with them on,for example,topic #2. Thus,you'd give the group advance notice and they can consider the task ahead of time. Or at the start of the discussion, when you're explaining why this topic is important and how the company got to this point, you could warn the team that you'll be asking for ideas after sharing information. Thus, they'll gear up their listening and be ready with some ideas when the time comes.

So,that's what you'll do next time. But now, here you are, trying to make eye contact with your team and wondering what happened to all the bright-eyed thinkers.

Creativity requires two important things: a safe climate and good thinking. People may have insightful and innovative ideas but if the perceived risk of offering them is high, those ideas will never see the light of day. There is the rare chance that you are simply hiring the wrong people ? but that's another issue! So let's examine the first, far more common, situation.

Why might employees perceive offering ideas to be risky? Look around your company. Are people rewarded who try new things? Are mistakes severely punished? When people make suggestions that seem patently impossible, are they met with groans or rolling eyes? In meetings, like the one you're in, do ideas get ignored, met with silence, discounted? Do status and hierarchy games get played where the lower level people are not heard? Are ideas stolen and presented later as someone else's?

As the start of this meeting, you can manage the climate. Here are seven things you can do to encourage and elicit ideas:

1. Say something encouraging like, "Let's get a range of ideas up here on the flipchart. All ideas are good ideas and I'd like you all to hold off on negative comments or judgments. Later on, we'll select from the big list."

2. Give a brief summary of the topic (again, if necessary) not only to remind them of the situation but also to give them time to think.

3. Welcome each and every idea, even if it seems you've heard it many times before. Your behavior will be closely watched and how you treat ideas will invite more or shut them off.

4. Either you or someone else write up the ideas (on a flipchart if possible) in the words of the giver. This gives encouragement and assurance that their idea is valuable.

5. Notice if ideas are coming from only a few people. Some individuals find the hurly-burly of a fast-paced meeting to be uncomfortable. Consider having the group take a minute or two to write down some ideas. Then, first ask for people to talk who haven't yet had a chance. The quieter, more introspective people will appreciate this open invitation.

6. Rather than evaluate each idea as it is offered, add it to the list for later selection. You'll have a wide mix of ideas and can then choose among them for intriguing ones that could benefit from further development.

7. Be patient. It's rare that brilliant ideas emerge right away. In fact, many breakthroughs come from the combination of smaller ideas. Remember that people often give "safe" ideas first and only offer the more creative ones when they've gauged the climate to be open-minded.

So, that's what you can do this time. And use these ideas for next time, so you won't get the "caught in the headlights" look. It's really simple, if you're willing to make the effort. Your staff will thank you for it.

Peg Kelley, MBA, has been a professional meeting facilitator for 25 years & is co-author of the booklet "39 Secrets for Effective and Enjoyable Meetings" available for $6.00 at her Facilitation Plus website at www.meetingswithmuscle.com. She publishes a free e-newsletter on Meeting Management Tips. Send your email address to her at www.meetingswithmuscle.com if you want to receive it.

recurring maid service Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

The iconic Mary Kay pink Cadillac goes electric with the Cadillac Optiq, available only to the company's top 1% of sales force performers.

Cybercriminals abuse trusted Intel driver to gain kernel access and shut down Windows Defender, enabling undetected malware deployment since July 2025.

Using email aliases for online shopping and subscriptions can protect your privacy by preventing companies from linking your activity across websites.

New research shows AI overlap does not equal job replacement, with knowledge-based roles seeing most integration while physical jobs remain least affected.

Scammers target seniors who avoid social media by exploiting public records like obituaries and real estate filings to steal personal information and money

Recovery team in Italy use AI-enabled drones to detect missing hiker's red helmet, leading to successful recovery after months of ground searches

Google Salesforce system breach exposes business data while scammers use incident to target users with fake security calls and phishing attempts.

Google announces Pixel 10 lineup with Tensor G5 chip and Gemini Nano AI, introducing Magic Cue, Pro Res Zoom up to 100x and satellite emergency support features.

C San Diego study reveals 86% of school safety companies monitor students 24/7 on personal devices, raising privacy concerns.

Users can now add their favorite outlets' coverage to the Top Stories section of Google search results by utilizing the 'preferred sources' feature. With just a few clicks, you can add Fox News.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS shows an unexpected frontal glow that Harvard's Avi Loeb says cannot be explained by sunlight reflection or standard cometary outgassing.

Receiving order confirmations for purchases you never made could mean your email address is being exploited in fraud operations targeting multiple retailers.

First wireless brain implant works with Apple's official protocol, enabling hands-free control of iPhones, iPads and Vision Pro through thought alone.

Data brokers sell personal details that scammers use to target retirement funds through fake financial advisor calls and convincing phishing attempts

Ten innovative tech solutions from gait sensors to smart pill dispensers help adults 65+ track fall risks and prevent injuries before they happen.

Meta AI internal documents revealed chatbots were allowed to flirt with children and engage in romantic conversations until the company was exposed by Reuters.

ChatGPT will avoid giving direct mental health advice under new OpenAI rules following instances where the AI model provided harmful or misleading responses.

Your phone tracks you in more ways than that little GPS icon suggests. Here’s how to find and clear hidden location logs on iPhone and Android.

Authorities in France and the Netherlands have been notified. Meanwhile, impacted customers are being told to stay alert.

Apple just rolled out a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature to specific models, following a recent victory in a legal dispute.

Kidney dialysis provider DaVita experienced a ransomware breach by the Interlock gang affecting 916,000 people in the second-largest U.S. healthcare attack of 2025.

A Chinese-made Unitree R1 robot walked Manhattan streets and shopped for shoes as part of KraneShares' $28 million AI robotics fund promotion campaign.

The ShinyHunters cybercriminal group breached Google's Salesforce system through vishing attacks, stealing business contact details and customer data.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

How To Encourage Ideas From Your Team At Meetings

Team Building