How to Get Your Colleagues to Participate

Working with teams can always be hit or miss – depending on the work ethics of your colleagues. If you find yourself working on a project that requires group participation from every member, you might experience some frustration if every member isn’t equally contributing. Try using these tactics below to elicit engagement:

• Bring meaning to the mission. It’s easy to blend into the background when you have a lot of hands on deck. Whatever the task is, make it a point to show the value of everyone’s effort. People work harder and smarter when they know that what they are doing is making a difference.
• Split up the group. Studies have shown that groups of 4 or less tend to be the most productive. The more you downsize the group, the more a sense of responsibility weighs on each member’s shoulders, which encourages them to contribute.
• Shine the spotlight on everyone. It’s really easy to fade into the crowd when you have a group of people working together and coming up with ideas. But if you ask each person to volunteer their ideas, every person in the group will get to see their contribution. And then no one will want to be seen as the slacker. This is a great motivator for getting everyone to work hard out of their own accord.
• Ask participants for advice. This is a little psychology trick where you approach the ones slacking off and ask them for their guidance in getting the other members of the group to participate. Not only will they feel good that you trusted them, but often times they will add more value themselves and encourage others to participate more too.

Have you attempted any of these strategies to foster a more cohesive group work environment? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave us a comment below.

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