Equitable Voice

It is very common for teams to have “domination by a few” where a small number of people control the entire conversation. It’s common in these cases for managers to prefer engaging only with these more vocal members. Sometimes organizations will make assessments of value, commitment, and dedication based on these behaviors.

This is a problem that leads to some feeling even more of a reason to not engage – why bother if they are not on the manager’s star team anyway? The overlooked and underappreciated members of this team can become flight risks as they try to find a company, team and company culture that will be more conducive to being heard. The result is a social problem that directly correlates to lower productivity, quality, and customer focus, as well as a negative correlation to retention.

The team environment needs to be a safe zone where every member feels empowered to speak and contribute. Here are a few ways to improve participation:

• Actively solicit questions

• Provide multiple ways for employees to share their thoughts

• Encourage dialog and discussion on comments

• Learn about each other

Employees need to understand that information coming from the team is done in a very controlled fashion. In traditional in-person teams, folks rely on each other’s behaviors and trust to manage the flow of communication. In a hybrid world, the use of tools can make this information flow very freely and quickly. So, it is important to have mechanisms in place to ensure the team has some privacy for the conversations that take place. This helps promote a safe space to contribute.