System Design Meeting Non-Participation

In this exercise, we examine a common team dynamic issue: several team members remain silent during design review meetings. This scenario challenges us to improve team engagement and collaboration—core to a manager’s ability to create sustainable performance change.

• We can create psychological safety so team members feel comfortable speaking up. This might involve setting new norms, encouraging questions, or addressing interpersonal dynamics that suppress contribution.
• We may need to facilitate structured participation, such as assigning roles, using round-robin feedback formats, or pre-assigning topics so everyone has time to prepare and contribute.
• We should investigate root causes—whether it's confidence, lack of clarity, or a dominant voice in the room—and address them through coaching or team norms.
• This is a chance to foster inclusion and amplify diverse perspectives, making the team more effective and innovative in its design process.
• By creating a culture of engagement, we raise the overall output quality and ownership across the team—an impactful and sustainable delta.

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