By Harry Mackin

For the most part, we’ve all adapted to remote work pretty well. As we got used to working separately, we tended to find ways to transition, transform, or replace most of our old work routines to make sure everything keeps getting done. But most — as every remote work naysayer is quick to point out — is not all.

If there’s one big element of the in-person work process still missing from your new reality, it’s the big, impromptu “throw-it-all-at-the-wall” brainstorming session.

Sessions like those probably led to some of your team’s biggest and brightest ideas… and they’re also the kind of thing you may think simply can’t happen remotely. Well, as you’ve probably surmised from the title of this blog post, that’s what we’re here to prove wrong.

The truth is, not only can you still conduct the kind of brainstorming sessions you threw together in person remotely, but there’s evidence they could be even more effective. That is, if you do it right. Here’s why remote brainstorming is still well worth making the time for, along with how (and how NOT) to do it right:

1 — Remote brainstorming helps prevent “The Dominators”

You know the ones we’re talking about. They’re the kids in class whose hands always shot up first when the teacher asked a question… but all grown up.

During traditional, in-person brainstorming sessions, you’ve probably noticed that a few people tend to dominate the conversation. They present their idea, and then before you know it, the rest of the session is spent discussing this idea… rather than necessarily hearing anyone else’s.

This is not just a function of a couple of outspoken people on your team. In fact, it happens in almost all in-person brainstorming thanks to a phenomenon called production blocking. The more extroverted, forward members (our “Dominators”) tend to lead, and everyone else follows. The larger the group the worse this issue tends to get, which makes it a particular problem for in-person office brainstorming.

This is one area where virtual brainstorming actually has a serious advantage over in-person. Production blocking doesn’t happen nearly as frequently in virtual meetings. In fact, there’s even a positive relationship between group size and performance that continues to scale, even to large sizes.

Taking it further: Use muting etiquette and the “raised hand” feature provided by most teleconferencing applications to further moderate and democratize the brainstorming process, ensuring everyone can speak in turn and whenever they have something to add.

Avoid: Designating “leaders” of the brainstorming session or devoting the entirety of a session to discussing the particularities of a single idea. Instead, find ways to encourage everyone to speak up, such as assigning each individual or small groups particular topics to focus on.

[bctt tweet=”“Find ways to encourage everyone to speak up, such as assigning each individual or small groups particular topics to focus on.” — Harry Mackin @Shiitakeharry” username=”toprank”]

2 — It helps everybody else speak up

Virtual …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

Author: Aaron