Introverts can feel overwhelmed in freewheeling brainstorm sessions. Here are alternative ways to get great ideas from them.
Maybe you’ve noticed this during a recent brainstorming session: Certain members of your team are ready to fire ideas off the cuff and bounce potential solutions back and forth as the group works together. Other members, however, remain quiet and thoughtful, hesitate to share their ideas, or even seem like they have no ideas at all during the meeting.
A friend named Jon recently presented this exact problem to me. As a validation team leader for a large semiconductor company in the U.S., he and his team are responsible for testing new products effectively and efficiently. The team has regular brainstorming meetings to review the work they’ve been doing and discuss how they can do better on the next project, and Jon expects each person to share and contribute new ideas during these meetings. But one employee usually remains silent the entire time. He knows she has ideas to contribute, but he can’t seem to get her to pipe up during the meeting.
This can be a common issue for those with more introverted tendencies—and introverts often get a bad reputation in the workplace because of their quietness. According to data from Myers Briggs Type Indicator research, 92% of introverts even feel pressured to behave in a more extroverted way at work. And why wouldn’t they? The modern office setting is built to be especially comfortable for extroverts with open office spaces and plenty of opportunity for casual conversation and group work. Charisma, high energy, and social skills are all rewarded as extroverts are often chosen over introverts—and have a 25% chance of being in a higher paying job and to land top jobs over introverts. This is despite the fact that a third to half of the world are introverts and many studies show that introverts often make better leaders because of their deep thinking abilities, listening skills, and creativity.
Passing over the introverts on your team isn’t the answer. There are ways to instead engage these quieter members, and by finding the ideal way to work with them, you’ll uncover a gold mine of well-thought-out and creative ideas that are even deeper and more developed than what you get in a quick brainstorm session. Here are four ways to get great ideas out of the introverts on your team.
GIVE THEM SPECIFICS
Introverts like details. They want to know as much as you can tell them about the problem, its roots or causes, and its impact on the business and your customers. Tell them more about the kind of solution you are looking for. Give them details on when and where you want them to give ideas. The more information you can give an introvert, the better. They can easily take in large amounts of data, process it, and create insightful ideas and solutions to move your organization forward—as long as you prepare them with the specifics.
GIVE THEM TIME
As deep thinkers, the introverts on your team typically enjoy additional time to process and analyze a problem. If you have the luxury of giving them more time, always make sure to do it. If you know you’re going to schedule a brainstorm session for the entire team, let the deep thinkers know a day or so beforehand. If that’s not possible, ask them to follow up with their ideas a few days after instead, rather than putting them on the spot during the meeting. This will take the pressure off and allow them to do their best brainstorming to come up with creative ideas for a solution. You may even find that if you allow everyone on the team, extroverts included, the chance to come back a few days later with additional ideas after having heard the ideas of others on the team, you may find an improved solution.
GIVE THEM OPTIONS
The people on your team have different preferred communication styles. While some may enjoy bouncing their ideas off one another in a group setting, some may find this intimidating. Check in with the introverts in your group and ask them individually how they prefer to communicate. Maybe sharing ideas via a one-on-one session, in an email, or with a small group would be better for them. By creating a psychologically safe workspace for the members of your team to share their ideas, you’ll likely see a big difference in your introverted team members’ eagerness to bring ideas to the table.
GIVE THEM UPDATES
Many workers with introverted tendencies may not follow up on their idea after they’ve shared it, simply because that’s outside of their comfort zone. However, following up with them on how their idea is moving forward or influencing other ideas will give them the confidence to continue sharing new ideas. But think carefully about how you share this news. Acknowledging them without preparation in front of a large group may make them uncomfortable. Introverts appreciate recognition, but often don’t appreciate being in the spotlight.
By envisioning the perspective of the introvert at work and offering information and alternative options for sharing ideas, you might find you’ll hear from the quieter members on your team more and more. While introverts won’t always be ready and comfortable to speak up in the middle of a large brainstorming session, you can still capture their thoughts and ideas by implementing these four tips. And in doing so, you’ll encourage their confidence to open up and share their ideas more freely.
Originally published by Fast Company. | Header Photo by Pragyan Bezbaruah via Pexels.
