Kickoff is almost here, and the team brainstorming that occurs once the game challenge has been released is one of the best times to truly leverage the diversity of opinions, ideas and solutions to problems that each team member brings to the discussion.  By far, the most valuable solutions to complex tasks come from considering a wide variety of ideas rather than just a few.  Have a great brainstorming session and make sure all voices are heard.

Here are some ways to make sure that happens this season:

  • Set clear ground rules about the format of your team’s brainstorming sessions and expectations. Some examples:
    • Make the objectives crystal clear from the start. What are you trying to solve?
    • Let people generate ideas individually first
    • Allow everyone to have a say. Make sure that the people who are quiet have equal time as those who have the tendency to dominate discussions.
  • Be mindful that women are interrupted, talked over, or shut down more frequently than men in meetings, particularly when the men outnumber the women. Here are some techniques you can use when this happens –
    • Appoint student and mentor allies to redirect the conversation back when a speaker is interrupted. Try this: “<name of interrupter>, I don’t think <name of speaker> was done speaking.  Let’s give him/her/them a chance to finish their thought.”
    • Add humor when calling out interruptions: “<name of interrupter>, did I somehow miss the group agreeing that interrupting is great for team productivity?”
    • If the interrupter is known for that behavior, talk to them offline/away from others. They may not even be aware and are just excited about building on an idea.
    • If someone steals an idea: “<name of idea stealer>, you made <name of the original idea owner>’s point almost as well as he/she/they made it originally. It’s great you are paying close attention to what he/she/they had to say.”
    • Amplify ideas of those not necessarily being heard. When they make a key point, repeat it and give credit to the owner of that point
    • Smaller sub-groups are less likely to interrupt – ideally no more than 7 per group
    • Institute a no-interruption policy at the start
  • People process information differently and are not all comfortable with sharing ideas in the same way, as sharing ideas carries some degree of risk and vulnerability. Make sure that the loudest and/or most senior members of your team do not dominate your brainstorming sessions. Be intentional about giving team members different ways to contribute to your brainstorming sessions.  For example, provide opportunities where team members can initially contribute ideas anonymously.  Try using Post-it notes or online tools like Candor (https://usecandor.com/), Poll Everywhere (https://www.polleverywhere.com/), Kahoot (http://getkahoot.com), or Mentimeter (https://www.mentimeter.com/).

Happy Brainstorming!!

FUM Diversity and Inclusion Committee