Are you a leader that inadvertently tells people to talk all the time?

Last week, we focused on how saying too much is like saying nothing at all when people talk too much and monopolize a meeting or conversation.   As a leader, you may not be talking too much, but are you telling your people to talk too much because you give them all the attention?

There is nothing inherently wrong with being extraverted and feeling comfortable vocalizing thoughts and opinions or being introverted and having less to say.  However, it does become a problem when leaders neglect to give important assignments to those who are quiet because they aren’t as vocal or neglect to seek their opinions because they don’t usually voluntarily give it.

3 Tips for sharing the love with all your people (even the quiet ones):

Regularly ask questions and seek opinions and ideas: Calling quiet individuals out in a meeting may not get the best results, but seeking to ask for input from all, even in groups can be beneficial. This can help build confidence in others and generate better discussion and ideas.

Give meaningful assignments to all even those that aren’t always the first to ask for them.

Aid all in development (the talkers and the quiet ones) by having regularly scheduled performance development and feedback conversations.   Those that are gregarious may be more likely to seek out your time and attention. Make sure you divide your time with all, even those that don’t seek it out, especially newcomers.
Have you ever made the mistake of reinforcing a behavior, like talking too much, to your team members without even realizing it?  What made you realize this and how did you correct it?