Meeting Participation - Asking for Insights
(This came to me from a VP of HR anonymously - Steve)
One thing I’ve noticed in our company culture is that we do a great job of integrating people from every level of the organization — executives, leaders, managers, and front-line staff often sit at the same table together. We value openness and accessibility, which is something I truly appreciate.
That said, I’ve also noticed that in meetings, hierarchy can still quietly shape participation. Even in an open culture, people can hesitate to speak candidly when senior leaders are in the room. As a result, I’m concerned we may not be fully hearing the insights, creativity, and perspective of people closest to the work.
I’d love to learn from others who have successfully created more open, collaborative dialogue across levels within meetings.
What have you done to:
- Encourage people to speak more freely, regardless of title or position?
- Create psychological safety in mixed-level group settings?
- Draw out quieter voices without putting people on the spot?
- Structure discussions so they feel more conversational and less top-down?
I’m especially interested in practical approaches, meeting formats, facilitation techniques, or even small adjustments that made a noticeable difference.
Would appreciate any ideas or experiences you’d be willing to share.
1 reply
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I have a couple of thoughts for you. First - I wanted to check in. You said that your company has a culture of integrating people across the organization - have you also created opportunities for people to learn how to offer differing/alternative ideas to leadership in a way that is candid and respectful? If you have not, this is where I would start. Giving people the information and tools that they need to understand how to offer their ideas forward in a way that initiates dialogue could be all you need. Within my organization, we utilize Crucial Learning content (specifically Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue and Crucial Influence) to help us think and speak our way through challenges in our work.
Second, as a member of my organization's facilitation team, I've noticed that there are a couple of techniques that we've been able to successfully use to help draw out ideas from all meeting participants (particularly when there is a power differential in the room).
For activities focused on brainstorming and reflection, we commonly use Rose, Bud, Thorn. All participants are given several sticky notes (pink for roses, green for buds, blue for thorns). They are then given several minutes to independently write down (1 idea/comment per sticky note) as many roses, buds, or thorns that they can come up with for the topic. Roses (pink notes) are our successes, things that are supportive or things that are going well. Thorns (blue) are challenges, roadblocks, or places where there is friction. Buds (green) are our opportunities, ideas, or areas for future development. After everyone has had several minutes to think and write - all stickies are stuck on the wall (by color) and we have a volunteer read off all the stickies (of a specific color) so that the group can utilize affinity clustering to organize the ideas into themes. Once all the stickies have been sorted, we can identify patterns and engage in discussion.
We also find that braking the larger meeting into smaller groups can allow more voices to be heard. By strategically planning who will be in which group, we can create spaces where the louder voices in the room don't overshadow those that are softer.
Lastly, I love utilizing dot voting. This can be an anonymous way for everyone to participate and give feedback to help us identify interests or prioritize. Goals (or tasks, initiatives, etc.) are listed out. Each meeting participant is given a set number of stickers (we usually give 3) to stick beside the topics they feel are most important. Participants could put all three stickers on one topic, or spread them out. But I love this because it helps visualize priorities and opinions and gives everyone equal opportunity to participate.