Inclusion Prompts will ignite the brains in your organization
I worked for GE in the 1990s. It was at its peak and on the cover of every business magazine as the best-run corporation. One of the stories circulating at the time was about Jack Welch at the GE union chief’s retirement dinner. Despite the union versus management strains of that day, the dinner was cordial.
Near the end, the union chief stood up to recount how much he enjoyed working at GE and how much he had learned, and he spoke about the remarkable strengths of the GE workforce. Then he said, “You know, Mr. Welch, for thirty-some years I’ve worked in your plants and on the assembly lines. You’ve made good use of my hands.” He paused, then continued, “If only you had asked, you could have also made use of my mind.”
The brains in your organization are just waiting to be tapped and vitalized. The more brains you ignite, the better the performance and the greater the probability for organizational survival.
How? By using Inclusion Prompts
Inclusion Prompts give you a way to close the standoff between the employee auto-brain’s caution and better organizational outcomes. There are numerous ways that you can adopt to meet the GE union chief’s invitation. You can spark each brain individually, especially if you are a frontline manager, or you can prompt a whole group at once to think and engage.
One-on-One Inclusion Prompts:
Advice Seeking – ask employees for advice on a tough challenge you’re facing.
Check-Ins – set up weekly, informal five-minute meetings.
Question Asking – ask power questions that start with how, why, and sometimes what.
Group Inclusion Prompts:
Quick Wins – ask employees to brainstorm quality-of-life issues or mission performance while you’re out of the room. Give them fifty minutes, return, and say yes on the spot to at least one idea.
Purposeful Discussions – structured discussions of two or more people talking together in good faith and with an aim.
Question Asking - spur group discussions with questions such as “What’s the first step we could take?” and “What support do we need?”
Five-Minute SNIPS (Short Notice Inclusion Prompts) – quick exercises to get everyone thinking, for example ask “What does accountability mean to you?”
If you’re wondering whether a town hall or all-hands meeting that includes everybody is an inclusion prompt, the answer is no. These are usually one-way communication sessions and don’t spark everybody’s brain.
I define inclusion as FULL participation with EVERY brain engaged.
Discover more about Inclusion Prompts in Certainty: How Great Bosses Can Change Minds and Drive Innovation.
