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Acknowledge that everyone in a group might have a different goal. Communicate these goals with each other and keep them in mind when collaborating.

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Although everyone is working together to accomplish a goal, success should still be recognized on a large scale. Instead of recognizing one person for a good idea, recognize the group for implementing the idea successfully.

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Set the expectations for the group before they begin meeting. Ground rules regarding communication, conduct, and expectations should be established and agreed upon by all participants.

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Resource #1: Encourage Group Participation Guide

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Resource #1: Encourage Group Participation Guide

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This guide lists helpful facts about group participation within the workplace and within everyday life.

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Resource #2: 7 Strategies to Improve Team Participation

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Resource #2: 7 Strategies to Improve Team Participation

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This article contains tips for working together with coworkers on a project.

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Team members who don't get involved don't feel as invested in the company, but they also don't feel like the company is invested in them.

As a team leader, that's the worse news you can get. You want each member of your team to actively participate by sharing their unique talents and informed suggestions. If a member of your team doesn't do so, it can weaken your team.

Let's take a look at the top strategies for improving your team's participation. While we'll focus on meetings in this post, you can broadly apply these to any interaction you have with your team members, both individually and in a group setting. Let's get started.

Would you like a printable list of do's and don'ts to increase team participation? Check this out!

Don't Invite Everyone

Not everyone needs to be involved in every meeting.

One surefire way to increase participation in your meetings, whether scheduled or impromptu, is to break the team into smaller groups. Depending on the size of your team, your smaller group may consist of only three people, and that's perfect.

A smaller group meeting offers two benefits:

In a smaller group, no one gets bored to tears. With a larger group, more topics are covered and these topics may not be relevant to everyone involved in the meeting. This causes meetings to drag on and participants to check out.

Because you can interact more directly with each person in your meeting, you'll increase the opportunities for participation. Each person is much more likely to ask questions or add suggestions when it's just two or three other people attending the meeting. By contrast, if there's 10+ people in the meeting, not everyone will feel comfortable speaking in front of a large crowd.

Get Them Involved Before the Meeting

Plan your meeting topics together with the group so that everyone has a hand in planning. Your team members are more likely to participate in a meeting that they helped plan.

By getting them involved before you've set the meeting agenda in stone, you show your team that you care about their input. It's a powerful message of inclusion and promotes teamwork.

Whether you have a scheduled meeting every Tuesday or only come together on a need to meet basis, you can still follow the below procedure:

Send out an email to every team member you'd like to invite to the meeting. Ask them one simple question:
What topics would you like discussed in the meeting?
The passive tense is important here because you don't want them to feel pressured to speak up at the meeting (even if that's your goal). Instead, you want them to feel that something relevant and important to them will be a topic of discussion in the upcoming meeting.

This will increase the likelihood that they'll actually attend the meeting and that they'll be an active participant.

Use Icebreakers

At the beginning of the meeting, especially if you haven't met in a while, it's always a good idea to warm people up. What better way to do that than with icebreakers?

Sure, icebreakers can feel corny at times, but that's part of the fun. Before you know it, you'll be team building like a pro.

To get you started, here's a list of 34 quick icebreakers you can use before your next team meeting, or whenever you'd like to do a team building activity. It's a built-in participation booster.

My favorite icebreaker is the "no smiling" edict. It's a little bit of reverse psychology that will have your whole team smiling because they're not supposed to.

Don't Dominate the Conversation

Once you've succeeded in getting everyone into the meeting space, don't make it all about you. There's nothing worse than sitting in a meeting for an hour while you listen to one person hog the spotlight.

Instead of being that guy, be the guy who actively seeks out the opinions of others. Ask specific questions and, if necessary, gently prod others to elaborate on their answers. A "yes" or "no" answer isn't participation, and it definitely isn't a conversation.

Every conversation is an exchange of ideas. True participation means that each member of your team is actively shaping the conversation. Sometimes, you must get out of the way to make that happen.

Value Everyone's Input

Piggybacking off the last idea, you should also genuinely appreciate the input of others. When someone else has the floor, stay engaged, ask questions, and let them know that you care.

This doesn't mean that you'll automatically rubberstamp their suggestions, but it does mean that you'll sincerely weigh what others say when you make a decision.

This level of respect and value for others will inspire them to share their opinions with you more frequently.

Recognize A Job Well Done

Too often, bosses hog all the praise for themselves, unwilling to share the stage with others. A team with this type of boss won't feel motivated to participate, because they know their efforts will go unrecognized.

When a team, or an individual team member, does a good job, acknowledge it. Recognizing their accomplishments is not just part of your job as the team leader, it's also a positive signal that you actually care about your team members.

Your team will definitely take notice when you praise others more than you do yourself.

Meet at the Right Time

When is the best time to meet with your team? The answer may surprise you.

Let's discuss the times when you should not meet:

After lunch is a horrible time to meet because people are sluggish after eating.

Immediately before lunch is a horrible time to meet because people are thinking about what they're going to eat for lunch. They have a vested interest in rushing the meeting along, so that it doesn't interfere with lunch.

The hour before quitting time is a horrible time to meet because everyone's preoccupied with going home.

So, eliminating those hours, let's discuss the ideal time for you to meet and expect the highest level of participation. Drum roll, please.

Tuesday afternoon at 3pm, according to this study. Why the afternoon? At 3pm, your team is fed and ready to socialize. Why Tuesday? This represents the day of the week when the majority of your team are most likely to be available.

Final Thoughts
An increase in team participation doesn't happen overnight, but if you follow the above strategies, you will see improvement soon.

Would you like a helpful list of do's and don'ts to increase team participation during your meetings? Subscribe to receive this extra resource.

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7 Strategies to Improve Team Participation

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Team members who don't get involved don't feel as invested in the company, but they also don't feel like the company is invested in them. As a team leader, that's the worse news you can get. You want each member of your team to actively participate by sharing their unique talents and informed suggestions.

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Resource #3: Implementing Group Work in the Classroom

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Resource #3: Implementing Group Work in the Classroom

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This document supplies teachers with the information they need to create groups which will work together successfully within their classroom.

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Implementing Group Work in the Classroom | Centre for Teaching Excellence

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Group work can be an effective method to motivate students, encourage active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making sk

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Social Reciprocity: The Science of Giving

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Robert Cialdini on the importance of reciprocity.

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Heads Up - Sharing responsibility - Join now

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Recent TNS social research shows that three out of four employees believe that organisations who value mental health are more productive. Flexible working conditions and a zero tolerance policy for stigma surrounding mental health are steps in the right direction.

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1. Group members can complete surveys on their own behavior/value of participation, as well as answering surveys about their group-mates.
2. Encourage feedback to be given as soon as possible - delaying feedback adds to the problems not addressed by allowing them time to develop.
3. Allow an outside source with no connection to the group to evaluate their performance within the group from a non-biased stance.

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How to Ensure Support is Offered to All Group Members

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How to Ensure Support is Offered to All Group Members

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1. Review the group member's daily surveys to make sure no major disruptions are taking place during their meetings.
2. Ensure the group members have all needed materials for the tasks they are asked to complete.
3. Remain involved in the group's performance throughout the process, rather than simply setting them up with a goal and only reviewing once the goal has been reached.