Want to listen to every voice? Some people will have to speak up, and some people will have to shut up.
We know good teams communicate well and everyone contributes to decision making. We also know that some people keep their thoughts to themselves, and some people talk over others. We need to actively work with our partners to make sure everyone's sharing their thoughts. Agreeing to listen to every voice is a great idea, but it can be hard work in practice.
Listening to every voice take effort and agreement
Quiet people have to speak up to be heard. There are many reasons people are quiet. In our research we heard pro patrollers and guides say they aren't likely to speak up on recreational trips, unless they think something is wrong. We also heard people say they are normally talkative and it's a "tell" that they are concerned about something when they are quiet.
Louder, talkative people have to create space for the quieter voices. It's hard for talkative people to stay quiet long enough for other people to speak.
And the people in the middle have to manage both their quiet and their talkative partners.
No abstaining
One of the cards in our Better Partner Toolkit is "no abstaining". It's an agreement that everyone on the team is going to share their thoughts, their observations, and participate in decision-making. Everyone can use this card; the quiet person, the talker, and the moderator in the middle. The quiet person can ask for prompting from friends. The talker can ask their partners to remind them to create space for others. And the middle of the road folks can lay it out as a team agreement that everyone follows.
It takes practice
Changing how we communicate is harder than learning ECT scores. Give yourself the time and space to be a learner. It will take practice, review, maybe some coaching and commentary from your partners. Change may come slowly, or you may shift gears quickly. Either way, you'll have better teamwork once everyone on your team is talking and listening.
Tell your partners what you're working on, and ask for their help and their feedback.
New person recap
I learned this from a friend in the FBI. It's intended to confirm everyone knows the plan, but it's also a great tool to help hear every voice. Before your tour (or the FBI's raid), have the most junior or quietest person on the team recap the plan to everyone. If they have it right, there's a good chance everyone does. If they are unclear on the details, your team didn't do a good job of explaining what you're doing that day. Better to catch that at the trailhead than on the snow. Having someone other than the "leader" retell the plan provides an opportunity for other voices to be heard.
Keep your teams a manageable size
It's much easier to hear every voice when there are 4 people on the team than when there's 8.
It's easier to speak up if you've laid out a framework in advance.
We’ve probably all been there…you go out with new partners, and realize they do things differently than you. You feel awkward bringing up how you prefer to do things; so you go along and keep quiet. Before you know it the day is over, and didn't happen as you'd like. Tell your partners how you like to plan, travel and debrief when you first start thinking about getting out together. You'll either be aligned or you'll find out you're not going to be make a great team. Better to figure that out early.
What kind of person are you?
For the quiet person: set some goals, and contribute more often incrementally. If there's a particular time you have had a hard time sharing your thoughts, maybe in planning, or when you felt uncomfortable in the field, focus on that area. You don't have to become chatty to have your voice heard.
For the talker: Tell your partners you are trying to give them more space, as you're trying to be a better listener. Ask them to let you know when you're overpowering the conversations.
Not sure if you're quiet or a talker? Ask your partners. You may be surprised by the answer.
We've provided a handful of practical ideas for you to work with to "listen to every voice" on your teams.
Try a few and let us know if they lead to better team communications and better days in the snow.
