Readiness to accept new members in teams – Part 2

This article is part 2 of the series "Openness to new ideas in teams." If you would like to implement something, we strongly recommend that you read part 1 first.

As described in Part 1, communication is always about establishing a connection, a bridge to the other person. The content of the conversation, the type of communication, the timing, and the authority that the conversation partners give each other are decisive factors in determining whether the bridge, along with its content, can be crossed—or not.

Are you familiar with this scenario: You are leading a meeting, and objections, doubts, and similar issues arise. The participants do not really accept your feedback because they do not want to be told what to do? Then you had no authority and no receptiveness in the communication.

If, on the other hand, people listen and allow themselves to be guided, you are justified in doing so. However, if nothing is implemented after the meeting, you still had no receptiveness.

System for meetings

In this article, you will learn a systematic approach that will immediately make your meetings more receptive—on any topic of your choice. The biggest mistake when communicating in meetings is to start immediately with the content, the "what." In practice, this looks like this: you greet people, refer to the agenda, and start with item 1 on the agenda. For this reason, we will now start with the following in our systematic approach:

Step 1 – Explain the bridge

Explain the receptivity bridge from Part 1 – in simple terms and in your own words. You can also draw a diagram on a flipchart or a sheet of paper. Under "What," explain your overall goal. What you want to achieve with the meeting. It is not essential that you are able to reproduce every tiny detail perfectly. The important thing is to build a connection with the team in order to achieve the overall goal of the meeting. By breaking with familiar patterns, participants are forced to leave their comfort zone and everyday meeting routine. Now it's time for the next step.

Step 2 – Ask questions

Stop giving teams too many instructions right now. Instead, ask more questions to get people thinking for themselves and give feedback on a case-by-case basis. People resist change for three main reasons:

• They don't understand the meaning.
• There are fears and/or
• They are not involved in the process and therefore cannot participate.

Example: "We are on one side. Over there is our destination, and between us is the bridge. What do you think are the biggest challenges we will face when crossing the bridge? What needs to happen for us to get there?"

The result here should be that all concerns, fears, doubts, but also hopes and wishes are expressed. If the group discusses this among themselves, you are almost there. Ask further questions until you feel that there is nothing left in the room that needs to be addressed.

Step 3 – Agree on rules

Now rules are needed on how to achieve the overarching goal. You let the group agree on the following situations ...

• what each individual will do next to achieve the goal. You should have this written down so that you can reflect back to the group and each individual at the end of the session exactly what was agreed. You can find ideas for questions under the topic of redirecting.
• how the group would like to deal with it if someone does not adhere to the agreed next steps.

Step 4 – Check

Finally, use questions (see Redirecting) to check whether all participants are clear about the following points for their individual next step:

• Goals and milestones: What is your next step? How clearly do you see the goal ahead of you?
• Confidence as a goal: Do you believe you will achieve it?
• Knowledge: Do you have all the knowledge you need to implement this?
• Experience: Do you have the experience to achieve the goal?

In this way, you have ensured that the group is receptive to your goal. You have clarified how you will ensure that the goal is achieved within the group. Every member knows what to do.

Step 5 – Ask for commitment

Now it is a matter of ensuring implementation and getting the group to commit to implementation once again. Ask the following questions in this order and wait until everyone has answered "yes" or "no" to a question before moving on to the next one.

1. Clarity: Does everyone know and understand the objectives?
2. Obligation: Does everyone support the goals?
3. Action: Does everyone know what to do next?
4. Empowerment: Can everyone work on the goals?
5. Synergies: Is everyone working together to achieve the goals?
6. responsibility: Does everyone hold each other accountable?

Note: Don't interpret a "no" to a question as resistance, but ask about the needs behind it. The aim is to clarify what the person needs in order to be able to commit. Even if you have come this far, it is still possible that the implementation will come to nothing.

Therefore, the next step is as follows:

Step 6 – Follow up and stay on top of things

There is almost nothing that undermines your credibility in a project more than agreeing to something and then not following through on its implementation. So, as a final point, discuss when you will meet again in this format to talk about implementation. See the whole thing as a process: provocatively speaking, a single meeting won't change anything. You always need a process that allows you to stay on top of issues so that lasting change can happen in practice.

This system makes it easier to achieve overarching goals. It helps your employees responsibility more responsibility and become more involved in meetings—with the aim of reducing the amount of direct management you need to provide yourself.