How many times have you been in a meeting, listening to the same people speak while others nod or sit silently?
Knowing when silence is agreement and when it is hesitation is an important skill for leading. Effective communication during team discussions sometimes requires finding ways that the loudest personalities don’t dominate everyone else. There are steps leaders can take to ensure that all voices are heard.
It’s important to intentionally make space for everyone to share their thoughts, concerns and ideas. Overly relying on what the most vocal have to say can create imbalance on the team, stifle innovation and erode psychological safety.
Why some folks speak more than others
If we consider the dynamics of dominance, there are a few different things that can contribute to whether someone is loud or quiet.
Personality type
We all have different personality styles, which influence how we approach situations, what motivates us, what we tell ourselves about what’s happening around us, what we prioritize and how we interact with others. There are different tools for understanding your personality style and the personality styles of others; at Padraig, we use the Everything DiSC Assessments with our clients. Effective communication is possible with each personality style. However, some personality styles are more comfortable speaking up, while others are quieter, preferring to share ideas more privately (like by taking a survey).
Confidence
Some folks are more confident in certain situations. This might be because they have more experience and feel comfortable speaking up. Power dynamics may also be a factor; someone who is higher in the organizational hierarchy (holds formal power, such as a manager or supervisor) may feel more confident sharing ideas in a meeting than someone less senior. There can also be informal power that is related to someone’s expertise (an engineer will be more confident to discuss how machinery works than someone in finance) or influence (a team member who has strong relationships with the majority of the team may feel more confident about brainstorming new ideas than a newcomer). Interestingly, many managers mistake confidence for competence.
Other situational factors
Our past experiences can affect how we interact with a group. For example, past experiences of speaking up in a group, fear of being judged or feeling uncertain about unclear expectations can all influence how readily we express our thoughts in certain situations. Effective communication can be variable, depending on personal and work histories.
Corporate culture
Organizational norms can affect how folks contribute to conversations in meetings. Some workplaces reward quick opinions over thoughtful reflection, which will influence human behaviour.
The risks of imbalanced voices on a team
When loud or dominating personalities overshadow quieter team members, performance and morale can suffer.
Here are the main risks of an imbalanced team:
1. Missing valuable ideas
If only the most vocal folks get the floor, different ideas or insights aren’t shared—possibly more innovative ideas. It’s not unusual for more reflective, cautious or junior team members to sit quietly when more vocal team members share their opinions. As well, creativity is stifled when the team defaults to groupthink.
2. Quieter members disengage
When loud members dominate discussion, the quieter members may stop even trying to contribute. What’s the point? If less boisterous folks feel there isn’t space for them to contribute—or worse, they are interrupted or talked over—trust deteriorates and psychological safety breaks down. Silence can indicate unspoken tension on a team. Be mindful that quiet personalities and more culturally reserved team members who feel unheard may feel undervalued, which in turn affects morale and retention.
3. Decisions could be dicey
When the loudest voices shape decisions, it’s possible that the decision-making is flawed. Quiet team members may have good information that would inform better decision-making; without all the information, teams could miss seeing flaws, overlook stakeholder concerns or choose the wrong path forward. Remember that the more junior folks who may be less inclined to speak up are likely also the folks at the front of the operation, seeing firsthand how things are working, or not working.
4. Lack of buy-in
Should the team move forward with a decision that is based on the ideas and opinions of the vocal few, the rest of the team may not actually be in agreement—it’s a false consensus. The problem is that without buy-in, research shows that roughly 70 percent of organizational change initiatives fail.
5. Culture shifts
When team dynamics are imbalanced, the corporate culture can be shaped by dominant personalities. If the culture values the ideas and opinions of certain people over others, that means that the decisions are informed more by personalities and power dynamics than by facts and information.
Creating space for quiet team members
As leaders, we need to make sure that everyone on the team has the opportunity to contribute their ideas and raise their concerns.
Here are some strategies to help include and encourage quieter folks to participate:
- Schedule round-robin sharing at meetings. This way, everyone has time to contribute as you go around the table. A strong facilitator will be able to make sure that each member gets a few minutes to share without interruption.
- Invite anonymous input. This might be using a virtual suggestion box or pre-meeting forms to solicit feedback and input in advance of the meeting, which can be very well received by thoughtful and reflective folks who prefer time to compose their thoughts.
- Meet with team members individually. One-to-one meetings are an excellent way to build solid relationships and find out what people care about. In those meetings, coach these staff to help them be more confident and expressive when needed. There isn’t always time to have individual discussions with each person or to consider new facts after the decision has been made. Encourage and support folks to speak up and know that their input will be valued.
- Uncover what’s NOT being said. In our blog about unspoken tension, we discussed how what’s not being discussed can be toxic if left unaddressed. We shared that our coaches use a tool called Bilateral Ventilation to uncover unspoken issues. This technique involves inviting team members to share what they sense or feel (without judging). When folks are reluctant to share, start by writing on slips of paper and then move into discussion.
Help the loud few make room for others
Another important way to establish balance on a team is to encourage (with care) the loudest few team members to step back and make space for everyone to share.
Here are some strategies that help:
- Encourage self-awareness and reflection. Louder personalities benefit from understanding how personality styles affect others in the office. Building emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence is an asset for everyone.
- Coach dominant voices to practice listening and curiosity. An essential part of effective communication is being a good listener. Too often, folks listen to respond rather than to understand. It’s possible to practice a better listening style by learning how to be an active and engaged listener.
It’s important to frame these shifts as opportunities for leadership growth, not criticism. This can be tricky with high performers who behave poorly, but it’s worth the effort to include everyone.
Leadership practices that support balanced discussion
As with most things, there are things leaders can do that will encourage all personalities to participate in workplace meetings in meaningful ways. These include:
Model vulnerability and openness
When you take a risk to share a crazy, innovative idea during brainstorming, your team members are watching. You can even say, “Now this might seem out there, but I was thinking what if we do X and Y?” By openly naming that you’re choosing to share despite your discomfort, you’re being a role model. Others on the team may feel encouraged to try being vulnerable and open, too. It’s also important to model humble listening; when you ask for ideas, listen to what folks share without critiquing them. Be comfortable with silence because some personalities need time to compose their thoughts and share, which will only happen when they’re given time.
Show that you appreciate the contributions from both loud and quiet team members
When leaders demonstrate that they value different work styles, there’s more collaboration among the quieter and the louder personalities. This might look like soliciting information from everyone in a pre-meeting survey, and then taking the time to acknowledge the contributions of a diverse group, including those folks who often don’t get airtime because they’re less vocal. This builds trust and feels inclusive when you learn the ways different personality styles prefer to contribute and honour those modes of communication. It can also be helpful to communicate when you’re taking time to reflect and consider information before rushing to a decision—again, modelling behaviour (being assertive and outspoken as well as demonstrating thoughtful listening habits) helps others see what you value.
Be intentional with your language
Choosing to say “we” instead of “you” or “they” will encourage more team members to join the discussion. Inclusive language matters because a collective term like “we” is a clear signal that everyone is invited to collaborate. Ensure that you are encouraging everyone to share, and politely control who has the floor and for how long. It’s perfectly fine to say something like, “We’ve heard a lot from the marketing team. What thoughts do accounting or administrative folks have to share?” That indicates that we’ve all heard enough from one group, and there’s now space—and interest—in more feedback from everyone else.
Facilitate inclusive meetings with intentional structure
Use a variety of communication tools to encourage everyone to contribute their ideas and raise concerns. This can include anonymous feedback through a suggestion box, a pre-meeting survey, having regular one-to-one check-ins and writing ideas down during meetings (since some folks don’t like to speak up in front of everyone—or get drowned out by the louder voices at the table). Our tips for keeping team members engaged during online meetings offer some more ideas to get broader participation from different personalities.
Actively promote psychological safety
As leaders, we are accountable for setting the tone and culture for psychological safety to exist. Your team members must feel safe to share ideas and concerns without fear of repercussions. When team members feel they are included, that it’s safe to learn, safe to contribute and safe to challenge ideas, there is room for healthy conflict around ideas. This is the foundation that drives innovation and success.
Teams thrive when all members—the loud, vocal members and the more quiet, introspective members—feel heard and valued. How we lead can encourage everyone to get off the sidelines and get actively engaged.
Coach’s Questions
Who tends to speak the most—and the least—in your meetings? What might be going unsaid on your team? What can you do this week to invite more balanced input?
