Senior team members are taking over the brainstorming session. How can you ensure everyone's voice is heard?

Some voices are often more domineering in brainstorming sessions, which can make the quieter voices feel over shadowed. INTENTIONALLY inviting those quieter voices to speak up and share ideas is essential to giving everyone an equal opportunity and truly gaining the most well-rounded perspectives.

My suggestion: Unequal the voices!!! I just attended the #canneslions2024 @canneslions wrap up. :) I loved what one of the speakers said: "Homogenous teams created the 'same' thing; work with 'freaks' to make the creative work better'. In my corporate days, I attended a lot of meetings where 'same' thinking led to 'same' outcomes. My solution for those meetings was to uncover new ideas through encouragement to really find a different way to problem solve, create opportunities or just listen to a new perspective. Nominate a never usual facilitator. Bring new team members to your brainstorm. Hire an outside facilitator to help you think/be different and be IN a different location. Enjoy the journey TO the idea, not just the idea.

Assigning roles to team members before the brainstorming sessions is one of the best ways to handle this situation professionally and give each member a respectable amount of room to speak comfortably. Another important aspect is giving the team members the assurance that their opinions and input are accepted as well as encouraging them to speak up when needed.

Turn the voices off. Use sticky notes to create an even playing ground and allow both introverts (who need time to think) and extroverts to contribute. Anonymous input is critical so people can truly express what they are thinking and allow for true innovation. Use the neutral voice of the facilitator to share the comments back to the group to pull out key themes and action points. Sticky note , anonymous feedback can be so powerful in defining core issues or ideas in any project! The fun bit is designing the activities to draw out the information, input and answers you need!

To ensure everyone's voice is heard in brainstorming sessions, here are some strategies to try: -Round-Robin Approach: Give each participant a turn to share ideas. -Anonymous Idea Submission: Use sticky notes or digital tools for anonymous input. -Small Groups: Divide into smaller groups for brainstorming and then share with the larger group. -Whiteboard/Virtual Board: Write ideas on a shared board. -Set Ground Rules: Emphasize respect and equal opportunity. -Active Facilitation: Appoint a neutral facilitator. -Timed Rounds: Give each person a set time to speak. -Written Input: Have participants write down ideas beforehand. -Silent Brainstorming: Start with independent idea writing. -Idea Rating/Voting: Rate or vote on ideas to prioritize.

Documenting workshops also works really well using an online space such as Canva, Mural or Miro. I personally love opening notes and drawings from a workshop a few weeks later and use it as a backbone when writing copy for ads or making workshop for my team.

Quando estou à frente de equipes, busco sempre ver algo bom que cada um tenha falado para poder destacar. Também pontuo, um a um, o insight ou a contribuição de cada colaborador. Assim, eles se sentem respeitados e entendem que seus esforços são vistos e reconhecidos. *** When I'm in charge of teams, I always try to see something good that each person has said so I can highlight it. I also point out, one by one, the insight or contribution of each employee. This way, they feel respected and understand that their efforts are seen and recognized.

I dislike when good ideas get lost because they aren’t captured properly. Using tools like sticky notes, digital collaboration platforms, or whiteboards to document everyone’s thoughts ensures that each contribution is acknowledged and considered.

Na minha visão, uma boa prática é nomear um facilitador para guiar a sessão de brainstorming. O facilitador deve garantir que todos os membros da equipe tenham a oportunidade de contribuir, intervindo quando necessário para redirecionar a conversa e equilibrar a participação. Isso promove um ambiente inclusivo e permite que todas as vozes sejam ouvidas.

Ter um facilitador durante o processo do brainstorming é cirúrgico. Além de estar atento a troca saudável entre todos, o mesmo pode improvisar mediante essas trocas, quebrando o gelo muitas vezes e favorecendo o espaço do diálogo construtivo que é extremamente importante para se ter um espaço seguro para o grupo expor suas ideias.

Mais que nomear um facilitador durante as reuniões que envolvam criação, é essencial garantir um rodízio, dando o primeiro exemplo de condução e deixando claro que todos participarão. Previsibilidade de método e chamada à participação constante criam a consciência de responsabilidade diante desse modelo de gestão mais compartilhada. / More than appointing a facilitator during meetings that involve creation, it is essential to ensure a rotation of facilitators, setting the first example of leadership and making it clear that everyone will participate. Predictability of method and call for constant participation create an awareness of responsibility in the face of this more shared management model.

From my experience, appointing a neutral facilitator to guide the session is crucial. The facilitator helps manage the flow of conversation, ensuring that no one person dominates and that everyone gets a fair chance to share their ideas.

Nas redações jornalísticas, por exemplo, a noção de tempo está sempre presente nas reuniões. Estar atento ao deadline dos trabalhos evita divagações e favorece a objetividade. O jornalista ou comunicador sênior se mantém sempre focado no tempo - de fala, de pesquisa, de pausa, de tudo! - pois sabe a importância que ele tem no trabalho. / In journalistic newsrooms, for example, the notion of time is always present in meetings. Being aware of the work deadline avoids digressions and promotes objectivity. The journalist or senior communicator always stays focused on time - speaking, researching, taking breaks, everything! - because they know how important it is in their work.

I’ve found that allocating specific time slots for each participant to share their thoughts prevents monopolization of the discussion. This structured approach guarantees that everyone has a chance to speak, leading to a more balanced and inclusive session.

The challenge with this is that many people are suffering from a serious case of imposter syndrome. This hinders anyone from asking questions out of fear of looking incompetent. Organisations need to encourage a culture of curiosity by rewarding questions from all levels. It is often a discouraged practice as it can slow progress however questions also allow time to reflect on the purpose, improve the end user outcome and evaluate the level and clarity of the communication that preceded the question.

Follow up questions are a great way in terms of giving other team members the chance to expand on a certain idea or even understand the other perspective better. Based on my experience, the more questions asked, the clearer it gets about how good the team's chemistry and openness is.

Encouraging questions is another technique that has proven effective for me. It not only helps clarify ideas but also promotes engagement and stimulates further discussion among team members.

Emphasizing the importance of diverse perspectives is something I always strive for. Encouraging team members to share their unique viewpoints and experiences can lead to more innovative and comprehensive solutions.

- Clearly communicate that the goal of the brainstorming session is to gather diverse perspectives. Emphasize that all ideas are valued. - Designate specific roles like facilitator, timekeeper, and note-taker to ensure the session runs smoothly and everyone has an opportunity to contribute. - Use brainstorming techniques that encourage equal participation, such as: Round-robin: Each person shares one idea at a time. Silent brainstorming: Participants write down ideas individually before sharing. Post-it note brainstorming: Everyone writes ideas on post-it notes and then collectively categorizes and discusses them. - Summarize key points and paraphrase ideas to ensure everyone understands and feels heard.

📌 The number one killer of creativity and innovation is a counter-productive environment. It can be frustrating and disheartening when senior team members dominate brainstorming sessions. Imagine, instead, a brainstorming session where every voice is heard, and creativity flourishes. When we value inclusivity and structured collaboration, we foster of creativity and innovation. What I learned from an Inter-D class during my M.Ed is that to ensure everyone's voice is heard, establish roles such as: 🔹 scribe, 🔹 timekeeper, 🔹 facilitator (whose role is to ensure inclusion of all voices). Rotate the roles and set rules of decorum to maintain a healthy environment. Then, watch creativity and innovation blossom. ╰(*´︶`*)╯

The best approach is to have some focus group and create seperate focus discussion on each topic, for example different tables in the same room to have seperate discussion and then report back the results to the room while a facilitator help in capturing the ideas and enable the equal time in sharing from each table. Then rotate the members of tables for different discussion to ensure that everyone has the chance to talk. Be kind to our planet! ✅✅✅

When you see all members are not heard 1. Go round the table and ask for for ideas and opinions 2. Not the ideas on a white board 3. in case of more participants , create groups with Senior / junior mix - take 3 to 5 ideas from each group. Ask the group to brain storm and provide top 3 / top 5 ideas 4. When narrowing down the results call out the names who gave the best and relevant ideas