I’ll never forget that brainstorming session. I wanted to crawl under the table… disappear.
My biggest client had invited me to participate in a brainstorming session with their entire creative team. So I found myself in their conference room, surrounded by a dozen brilliant people as the Creative Director stood in front of a whiteboard, dry erase marker in hand.
“Let’s just go around the room and everyone toss out their best idea. Let’s hear what you’ve got!”
Terrifying words for any introvert. But for me, it went even deeper.
As a Learner, I need time and space to explore, comprehend, and process ideas. Instead, I sat in that room, growing increasingly anxious with each passing minute, listening as everyone else shared impossibly brilliant ideas.
As it got closer to my turn, I was sure everyone else could hear my heart pounding through my chest. And sure enough, when it was my turn everyone looked my direction and… I went totally blank. Nada. Nothing.
Thankfully, the spotlight quickly moved on to the next person. But I felt like I’d let everyone down. Worse still, I was embarrassed.
But here’s the thing — after the meeting, when I had a few minutes to sit at my own desk and process my thoughts, I had a flood of ideas. And one of those ideas wound up being the one my client chose for the campaign.
Meanwhile, the Drivers in that room were thriving. Quick decisions, rapid-fire responses, moving things forward — that’s their sweet spot. The Achievers loved the competitive element and the chance to shine with the best idea.
Same meeting. Completely different experiences.
Here’s what I learned that day: Most leaders think good team members should be engaged in every meeting.
That’s like expecting your detail-oriented Optimizer to get excited about blue-sky visioning sessions, or your relationship-focused Relator to thrive in solo ideating.
Different people are energized by fundamentally different types of work.
Watch your next team meeting carefully.
Notice who leans in and who checks out.
It’s not random.
The person who lights up during strategy sessions might check out during execution planning. The one who asks brilliant follow-up questions might glaze over during the creative ideation.
It’s not about their engagement level. It’s about energy alignment.
How people show up in your meetings tells you everything you need to know about how they’re motivated.
Of course, the MCode assessment is the easiest way to discover what makes your team tick so they can feel deeply engaged, all-in, and motivated to bring their best to the table.
Want to know more? Let’s have a quick chat!
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