How to manage at work the "silent type" of team member. Some tips and techniques that actually work.

Ah, the silent type. Sure, they attend meetings, but they rarely actively participate.

The silent type of difficult learners never shares ideas or opinions, and you often don’t know where they stand on things.

Needless to say, this can make collaboration very difficult. It can also discourage other team members from engaging with them, which can make the problem even worse.

As a team leader, here’s what you can do about it:

• Ask probing questions

• Pair them with another team member

• Find ways to connect to their passions

• Create a safe environment for sharing ideas

With the silent type of difficult learners, it is also important to take the time to acknowledge and thank them when they do share. Positive reinforcement will help them to feel more comfortable opening up and collaborating with your team.

As a team leader, using these techniques with the silent type should encourage them to speak up a little more. Doing so will help your team engage with each other in a more effective way.

Have you encountered this type of difficult learner on your team? What have you done to encourage them to speak up?

In the next post, we’ll take a look at the bully type of difficult learners and what you can do as a manager to work with them.

And if you missed the last post (about the know-it-all learner), you’ll find it linked in the comments below.

See you next time!