Why Are Some Teammates So Quiet?

Hi friends,

Everyone knows that teams need open communication to succeed.

Actually (let’s just be real…) it’s crucial for them to even survive.

I’ve mentioned how your job as a leader is to look for “the quiet ones ” and encourage them to voice their opinions. You want to build psychological safety to foster creativity, innovation, and collective intelligence.

But there’s a catch.?

While you can achieve this by cultivating your influencing skills: learning how to listen, be more passive, and ask questions, even THAT isn’t always enough.

I want to talk today about digging deeper.

Because sometimes, driving more participation isn’t just about what you DO, it’s about understanding WHY some of your teammates don’t open up, and knowing how to encourage more open dialogue.

With that in mind…

Why Does It Matter That Your Teammates Speak Up?

Sometimes, driving more participation isn’t just about what you DO. It’s about understanding WHY some of your teammates don’t open up, and knowing how to encourage more open dialogue.

Your whole team benefits when everyone feels safe sharing their thoughts and ideas.

Open communication triggers all the ingredients for shared success:

1. Collective Intelligence : Diverse perspectives contribute to more well-rounded and effective problem-solving.

2. Better Decision-Making: Both as a leader and as a collective, you make far more informed decisions with access to a wide range of insights and opinions.

3. More Creative and Innovative Solutions: Encouraging all teammates to contribute their ideas fosters a culture of creativity and innovation.

4. Improved Team Relationships and Culture: Open communication builds trust, strengthens relationships, and creates a positive team culture.

Basically, teams that communicate openly are better equipped to navigate challenges and seize opportunities than those that don’t.

So why do some teammates stay quiet?

(It can make you wonder…”Am I doing something wrong?”)

Why Employees Stay Quiet

As I mentioned, there are times when even actively inviting teammates to share their opinions makes no difference.

You stay passive, they stay passive, and nothing but an awkward silence ensues—not what you wanted.

My experience working with different cultures is that there can be several reasons.

If you’ve ever wondered what on Earth to do when lively, bubbling communication seems elusive, it could be down to one of the following reasons:

1. Cultural Norms: In some cultures, questioning authority or offering differing opinions is just NOT DONE. I’ve discussed Hofstede’s cultural differences before: “speaking up” may be actively or passively discouraged, so your colleagues may keep their thoughts or opinions to themselves.

2. Power Dynamics: It’s not unusual for teammates to be scared of what might happen if they disagree with you or those they work with daily. Silence, therefore, often seems safer and much less stressful than potential conflict.

3. Learned Behaviors: Don’t underestimate the power of past experiences. Perhaps a certain teammate has felt embarrassed, been ignored, or even told off for chiming up.

4. Lack of Psychological Safety: Yes, it could be down to the environment in which you work. If your employees simply don’t feel their opinions are valued or respected, they are unlikely to voice them.

Understanding these barriers is crucial for a leader who wants to create a more open and communicative team environment.

Let’s look at how you can get your teammates more involved.

Triggering Engagement and Contributions

So, fostering open communication means you sometimes have to do more than simply invite feedback from those around you.?

It’s about blending influencing styles with leadership skills. Try:

1. Expressing Intent: By this, I mean CLEARLY articulating that you are after honest feedback. Then, backing it up with actions that role model openness. Actively show your team that you genuinely value their input.

???

→ Takeaway: Regularly remind your team that their opinions are crucial for your collective success, as well as that of your whole organization.

2. Try Standard Questions: “Standard” questions here involves asking specific, recurring questions to eventually normalize sharing different perspectives. This helps your teammates feel prepared and comfortable about sharing their thoughts.

→ Takeaway: ?Establish a routine of asking for feedback on specific issues to make it a regular part of your team’s culture.

3. Discuss Communication Preferences: Identify and use communication channels that suit your teammates’ preferences. Maybe it's face-to-face meetings, anonymous surveys, or online forums—you’ll figure it out, then you can adapt to what makes your team comfortable.

→ Takeaway: Regularly check in with your team to understand their preferred methods of communication. Adapt accordingly!

4. Actively Support and Endorse Minority Voices: Where credit is due, this can help you disrupt biases and ensure those often-overlooked opinions are heard. This might involve publicly acknowledging contributions or providing platforms for quieter team members to share their insights.

→ Takeaway: Consciously try to amplify underrepresented teammates’ voices.

5. Attribute Work Accurately: Recognize individual contributions; it’s an important way to prevent demotivation and encourage ideas-sharing.?

→ Takeaway: Give credit where it’s due to build a culture of trust and respect. Make it a habit to publicly acknowledge your teammates’ contributions, thus reinforcing the value of their input.

Over to You

As always, I’ve prepared a few self-reflection questions for you to chew on. I’ve linked them to each of my recommendations above, so consider them “starting points” for putting all this theory into driving action.

1. Expressing Your Intent: How can I better articulate my desire for honest feedback to my team?

2. Use Standard Questions: What specific questions can I ask regularly to encourage open dialogue?

3. Discuss Communication Preferences: Have I identified and adapted to my team's preferred communication channels?

4. Lend Social Capital: How can I actively support and endorse minority voices within my team?

5. Attribute Work Accurately: What steps can I take to ensure individual contributions are recognized and celebrated?

Building a participative, open communication culture will always be an ongoing process.?

It will take commitment and intentional action on your part.?

But it’s worth it, so I encourage you to try out the questions. Share an answer or your thoughts with me in a DM—I’m always here to help you strengthen your skills!

— Govert