Fostering meaningful participation of young people is a process and not an event
Published date: 2010-08-15
Leadership League, Perspective, The Himalayan Times
What would you do if a young and inexperienced subordinate has to be accommodated in an important meeting? First you might think, ‘he will just occupy a seat.’ In the worst case scenario, you might just pray that ‘this youth does not divert the meeting by saying something irrelevant’ or if you are really liberal, you might think ‘this will be a good exposure for this young person.’ No matter what you think, meaningful contribution in the meeting will be an arduous task for the young one.
Initially, fostering meaningful participation of young people is a process and not an event. Just giving them an exposure might not yield results. In fact, the entire process of letting them chip in significantly will have longer positive impact on your team and most importantly on the individual.
If time permits, the following steps could help a young person contribute meaningfully to a meeting.
Let them separately prepare for the meeting:
Let them prepare separately after sharing the meeting’s agenda. Giving guidelines and dividing the task can also help them prepare more precisely and be more productive in the meeting. Leaving the person alone will cultivate unrestricted thinking and a sense of independence.
Handing over the most daunting preparation task to the young person can also yield better results, as error rectification is possible before the final day.
Describe an issue or a problem without including cause or solution: We mostly tend to imply or even impose causes or solutions to a problem. This restricts others’ thinking, especially young people. On the other hand, just describing a problem can derive more positive impact.
Questioning about their perspective on causes and possible solutions might generate new ideas. It provides space to the young person to contribute with new perspectives.
Encourage participation in the meeting: When explaining something, just ask them to give a specific example to sustain your ideas. Give short directives on what you want them to give examples on.
Evaluate the meeting separately with the individual: Reviewing the meeting with the individual will allow them to think critically. Do not forget to ask about their impressions and feedback of your own performance at
the meeting.
Published date: 2010-08-15
Leadership League, Perspective, The Himalayan Times
What would you do if a young and inexperienced subordinate has to be accommodated in an important meeting? First you might think, ‘he will just occupy a seat.’ In the worst case scenario, you might just pray that ‘this youth does not divert the meeting by saying something irrelevant’ or if you are really liberal, you might think ‘this will be a good exposure for this young person.’ No matter what you think, meaningful contribution in the meeting will be an arduous task for the young one.
Initially, fostering meaningful participation of young people is a process and not an event. Just giving them an exposure might not yield results. In fact, the entire process of letting them chip in significantly will have longer positive impact on your team and most importantly on the individual.
If time permits, the following steps could help a young person contribute meaningfully to a meeting.
Let them separately prepare for the meeting:
Let them prepare separately after sharing the meeting’s agenda. Giving guidelines and dividing the task can also help them prepare more precisely and be more productive in the meeting. Leaving the person alone will cultivate unrestricted thinking and a sense of independence.
Handing over the most daunting preparation task to the young person can also yield better results, as error rectification is possible before the final day.
Describe an issue or a problem without including cause or solution: We mostly tend to imply or even impose causes or solutions to a problem. This restricts others’ thinking, especially young people. On the other hand, just describing a problem can derive more positive impact.
Questioning about their perspective on causes and possible solutions might generate new ideas. It provides space to the young person to contribute with new perspectives.
Encourage participation in the meeting: When explaining something, just ask them to give a specific example to sustain your ideas. Give short directives on what you want them to give examples on.
Evaluate the meeting separately with the individual: Reviewing the meeting with the individual will allow them to think critically. Do not forget to ask about their impressions and feedback of your own performance at
the meeting.
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