How effective is your manager at creating a meeting environment where everyone is comfortable participating?

Our reader poll today asks: How effective is your manager at creating a meeting environment where everyone is comfortable participating?

• They’re great at it. They create space for everyone to participate comfortably 27.52%
• They’re good at it. They create some space but tend to drive the discussion 24.84%
• They’re OK at it. They drive most of the discussion and get some input 18.12%
• They’re not good at it. They drive the discussion and don’t solicit much input 16.77%
• They’re bad at it. They dominate the discussion and no one feels comfortable joining in 12.75%

Create the space. 48% of you report that your manager doesn’t do a great job of creating space for discussion. They just drive the conversation to get to their own chosen endpoint. That likely feels frustrating and unfulfilling for their team members. Now the real question – how would your team members answer this question about you? Seeing how easy it is for your managers to miss the mark on this one, it’s not a stretch to think that you might demonstrate some of the same behaviors. Be honest with yourself. Keep track of how much you talk during a meeting and how much others participate. Look at the balance of what you say. Do you make more statements or ask more questions? That’s a good indicator of how inviting your environment is. Get input from others. You hired them because they’re smart. They stay because they feel like they contribute and have an impact. Create that space for them to do so.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post?  If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog.  It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!).  SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.