Encyclopedia of Leadership

HOW TO HANDLE PARTICIPATION IN A GROUP

✔ Break the group into subgroups early;ask a spokesperson to lead the reporting on an issue.

People who may be reluctant to speak up in a large group will often participate readi-

ly in a small group.

✔ Leave contentious issues until the group has warmed up to participation. Put a safe agenda

item at the beginning of the meeting.

✔ Don’t wait until you need participation to ask for it.Consistently ask for and support

participation.

✔ Always summarize or paraphrase participants’ contributions,particularly if you have a dif-

fering view. [☛8.7 Active Listening]

✔ Participants are much more likely to hear you if you demonstrate that you heard them. If you

hear something you disagree with, acknowledge or make the idea visible before com-

menting. [☛1.8 Recursive Leadership]

✔ Be careful how you handle contentious contributions outside a meeting.If you talk outside a

meeting about how dumb the participants were inside the meeting, you can expect low

participation at your next meeting. [☛10.5 Group Disturbances]

✔ Call group members participants if you want them to be an active rather than a passive audi-

ence.Call sessions where you want participation workshops, working sessions, or bull

sessions rather than the more passive meetings, presentations, updates, or seminars.

✔ How you arrange room seating can add to or detract from participation. Arrange the room

so participants can see and talk easily with each other. [☛11.3 Meeting Checklist]

✔ Observe other group leaders. What do they do that enhances or inhibits participation?

HOW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL

“The challenge is to make ‘have-to’s’ into ‘want-to’s’.”

—Geoff Bellman, GETTING THINGS DONE WHEN

YOU ARE NOT IN CHARGE

Too much participation may cause as many problems as too little. Too much:Decisions will take

too much time and some people will think you are abdicating your leadership role. Too little:

People will feel that they have no ownership and that you are overcontrolling. The optimal

amount of participation needs some thought and planning. Where do you need participation

and how will you secure it?

318 SECTION 10 TOOLS FORLEADINGTEAMS ANDGROUPS