When you're leading or participating on a team, what steps do you take to get team members to contribute ideas?

Question

Karrie Day · Accepted Answer

"I have worked on a number of team projects and it can be a challenge at times to generate enough ideas to make the right decision. My go to approach is to review the current set of ideas and consider whether they are a fit for the task at hand. If there is a gap, I remind my teammates of the goals we are working toward and the importance of thinking the situation through thoroughly. I then lead by example and generate another idea myself. I have found that to be an effective way to get things moving."

Karrie Day · Answer

Boeing is looking for individuals to join their team who are innovative co-creators in change. To adapt and thrive in the competitive aerospace and defense industries, a true team effort is required from all at the organization. With this question, your interviewer wants to be assured that they'd be hiring a team member that can help bring out the best in everyone that they work with.

Karrie Day · Answer

Prior to your interview, put some thought into how you get your colleagues to step up and give productive ideas. Give an example that demonstrates how you interact with your team and help others feel supported in sharing their opinions. If appropriate, walk your interviewer through formal facilitation tools and techniques you have used in the past such as various brainstorming methods. Demonstrating you have a seasoned toolkit in this area can help set you apart from other candidates.

Rachelle Enns · Answer

"I love learning from other team members. It doesn't matter to me whether you are in an entry-level position or you've been working in your role for years, every voice matters. I listen to everyone's opinions and help others to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts in group discussions or when I'm working on a team to solve a problem. My approach of being respectful and open to everyone helps to promote a great team environment."

Karrie Day · Answer

"In my experience, a team that is struggling to generate ideas is experiencing some sort of roadblock that needs to be removed. I assess the situation and then use a strategy that helps to remove the roadblock and allow for a creative flow of ideas to continue.

For example, the teams I lead currently hold product design sessions once a month. They last for two days and my teams are usually worn out during the afternoon of the second day. The quality of the ideas offered and the discussion around them suffers as a result. I recently implemented a change that helped with that issue.

We now go for a walk together as a team after lunch on the second day. We go outside if the weather is nice, or we walk around our building if we need to stay inside. Getting everyone up and moving seems to help us avoid the second afternoon slowdown pattern and helps us finish our design sessions with a quality set of ideas."

Karrie Day · Answer

"I work on cross-functional teams with a mix of personality types. Several of our subject matter experts are introverts and they sometimes hold back if they think their idea won't be ultimately selected. I like to remind my teammates that there are no dumb ideas, and the wrong idea is often the inception point for the right idea. I throw out an idea of my own and ask others to share what they are thinking even if it isn't perfect. That usually gets the conversation moving."

Karrie Day · Answer

"I lean on facilitation and brainstorming techniques to help my teammates generate ideas. My first step is to ensure we have a healthy team environment. This includes making sure the room is comfortable, ensuring we have the proper materials, and establishing ground rules for our session.

Next, I facilitate a brainstorming exercise that matches our needs. For example, if we are discussing a sensitive subject I might ask everyone to brainstorm independently and then I collect the ideas, mix them up, and read them out anonymously.

My teams love it when they see my facilitation kit in my hand before a meeting. I try to make the process as fun and engaging as possible, and I would enjoy the opportunity to lead these types of sessions here at Boeing in the event I am offered the project manager position."

Karrie Day · Answer

"I currently work with a very talented and creative team. There is usually an abundance of ideas and we are more likely to get stuck on trying to decide which is best. However, we do struggle to generate ideas from time to time. In these cases I like to encourage everyone to take a break and do some research. We clear our minds and then reach out to our contacts or research online to help spark a new idea. We then come back together to share what we have learned. That approach has worked well for me and my team in the past."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I believe that more heads are better than one. But I believe that if not allowed in team situations, we can become fixated on one or two ideas when there are way more minds than just those two. I feel that giving every person a chance to speak and never criticizing but embracing their concepts or ideas allows for a better team atmosphere and a cohesive group that is willing to work harder and stronger than a fixated group listening to only a handful of people."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I stop the meeting in a friendly way and ask the person for their input. I also see the person after the meeting to discuss their contribution to determine what issues if any they have about talking in public."

Anonymous User · Answer

"Its always good to hear from others with ideas, as even if you don't adopt peoples ideas if you take the time to seriously consider peoples ideas and respect their opinions I find people feel more invested in what they doing and more engaged.

I often sit with team members and find often in on a one to one less informal basis brings out the best ideas although if you can get input in a small workgroup better progress is made."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I believe the best way to encourage people to contribute is to 'shut up' and allow people the space to contribute to ideas. Facilitating on getting the ball rolling is important, but being humble enough to admit you don't have all the answers encourages other contributions. If I felt someone was shy, I would seek them out quietly to make sure they had a chance to participate."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I found it helpful to have as much team engagement as possible. What we did in my senior design team was have weekly meetings where we kept a google docs page with everyone's tasks and to-do lists. This means there would be no overlapping work, and people can see in real-time what each other team member has accomplished. Each week we would assign a new task, and I believe this encourages people to work towards their goals, so they are not left behind."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I love to learn and listen from every team member. I will jot down important points and use them to engage in group discussions or when I'm working on a team to solve a problem.

Every team member's suggestions or opinion is important."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I have worked with a number of teams on various projects while I was still studying for my degree. One of the most significant projects I have participated in was an international conceptual design helicopter for high altitude medevac operations, consisting of six people. Although some of them were quite hesitant to voice their ideas, I still asked them about their views and opinions no matter how they think it is insignificant or unrelated to the topic. For me, there are no such things as wrong opinions because everyone has different perspectives about different things. Hence, it is necessary to ask others for varieties and connect them with yours."

Anonymous User · Answer

"When I am working in a team, I am respectful and encouraging to other team members to make suggestions. If people are not allowed a chance to voice their opinion, then we have the risk of creating an echo chamber. Boeing's mission statement is "To connect, protect, explore, and inspire the world through aerospace innovation." Innovation is impossible without new ideas."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I'm open to any opinion without any negative criticism, which gives everyone the confidence to speak up."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I have enjoyed leading teams in the past and understand the importance of each team member's voice. On my green belt project, we went through a few team changes during the project duration. As a team leader, it is important to establish an atmosphere that supports input quickly. I found that, once up to speed, giving newer team members the floor and asking for their input directly can help to bring out their inner voice quickly. They can bring a fresh perspective and help challenge a veteran team member's understanding of a process. It also gives the rest of the team time to contemplate and take a step back. I also ensured that a clear supportive explanation was given if any idea was proposed and after consideration would not be used. This ensured that the whole team was aligned and nobody felt their voice wasn't heard. In the end, we developed a 3 tiered solution, each from a different team member, that drove roughly $ 3 million in cost avoidance."

Anonymous User · Answer

"I understand that everyone has different personalities. Some can be introverts and shy to share ideas. I would first share an idea and have everyone add to it. I would research on my own time to find out how everyone's personality is and if they are shy at meetings and only speak when asked to."

When you're leading or participating on a team, what steps do you take to get team members to contribute ideas?

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