One powerful way to join forces at the conversations / ideas level is to:

The truth is we’d all benefit from hearing more perspectives in meetings. But do you ever feel like just 2-3 people do all the talking in a meeting?

One very common reason why is that Extroverts talk to think and Introverts think to talk.  So meetings are typically dominated by extroverts. When that happens we all lose - everyone is in that meeting for a reason, and we will come up with better answers if we can get their perspective. 

Check out these two proven strategies for ensuring you benefit from everyone's perspective in the meeting.

How do they do it?

Kathleen sends the following email to her CEO when the Exec Team Meeting is put on her calendar "Hey Scott, Could we get the agenda for this meeting at least 24 hours before the scheduled date? I'd love to come prepared with my thoughts." She has to send this every time, but it's worth it.  

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Naomi asks the important question, gives everyone 2 minutes to think and write down three ideas, and then the team goes around the room and everyone picks one to share. Then they go around the room and each person shares, while the others are allowed to ask clarifying questions (not to debate). Only once everyone's perspective has been understood do they start discussing what the team should do. Naomi says "This might seem like more work but it saves A TON of time. People who tend to be verbose get more succinct, people who tend to hold back, get involved and we don't waste time debating endlessly because we actually understand each others' perspectives. I don't do this for every question, but I do it for the most important question I need the team's input on that week. And our solutions are so much better for it"