How to get people to speak up!

Ever frustrated by the lack of employee engagement? You sense that they want to speak up but, well, just don’t do so. Here are three ideas.

Idea No. 1: Do a pre-mortem on a project

Scientist Gary Klein suggests that every project needs to undergo a pre-mortem. Here’s the process. Take the group that is familiar with the project and its roll out. Announce that they will need to imagine it is a year from now and the project turned out to be a big flop. Tell them to take two minutes and write down three reasons why.

Start with the team leader to set an example of candor. Then, go from person to person, asking for a different reason and record them all on a white board. Now you can anticipate how to correct for these possibilities. People will show how smart they are by the quality of issues they raise. Read all about it! “Performing a Project Post-Mortem” by Gary Klein, Harvard Business Review, September 2007.

Idea No. 2: ‘I see you might be confused’

This is from law professor Ozan Varol and his book Awaken Your Genuis: Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity & Become Extraordinary. When he lectured, he would ask, “Any questions?” The response was often dead silence, crickets.

So, he changed his approach to this: “What I just explained was confusing. I’m sure a bunch of you have questions. Now’s the time to ask.” The response: Hands shot up. Why? Several reasons: