SESSION OVERVIEW:
As AI takes on more analytical and administrative work, distinctly human capacities – thinking
together, building trust, making meaning as a group – become an organization's most critical
competitive advantage. When the environment shifts faster than your plans can keep up, your most
valuable organizational asset is something other than your roadmap or what AI offers – it's your
team's ability to think together in real time. That thinking happens (or doesn't) in meetings.
Many meetings, though, are structured in ways that quietly suppress it. A few voices dominate.
Others disengage. Ideas go unspoken, and the group settles for the most dominant perspective
rather than the best one.
together, building trust, making meaning as a group – become an organization's most critical
competitive advantage. When the environment shifts faster than your plans can keep up, your most
valuable organizational asset is something other than your roadmap or what AI offers – it's your
team's ability to think together in real time. That thinking happens (or doesn't) in meetings.
Many meetings, though, are structured in ways that quietly suppress it. A few voices dominate.
Others disengage. Ideas go unspoken, and the group settles for the most dominant perspective
rather than the best one.
Many of us assume that the single strongest predictor of a group’s problem-solving ability is the
smartest person in the room. But instead, research shows that it's how evenly conversation is
distributed. When everyone contributes and is genuinely heard, engagement rises. And according
to Gallup, high engagement drives measurable gains in profitability, quality, and safety.
The good news: This is a design issue, rather than a people issue. And it's solvable.
In this hands-on mini-workshop – come with camera on if possible – you'll learn a practical,
neuroscience-backed process for structuring meetings so that equal participation is more than a
cultural aspiration, it becomes a built-in default. You'll leave with something you can use in your
very next meeting.
After this session, participants will be able to
- Apply a structured facilitation process that distributes participation more evenly across all meeting attendees and builds psychological safety.
- Recognize the conditions that suppress or invite genuine contribution – and make deliberate choices to shift them.
- Use the same method to surface disagreement productively, turning unspoken tension into useful signal rather than noise.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Sheella Mierson, Ph.D. is Principal of Mierson Consulting, where she helps organizations design
decision-making structures and collaborative processes that enable people and teams to do their
best work in complex environments. She partners with leaders and teams to improve stakeholder
alignment, surface critical perspectives, and build the conditions for effective collaboration.
Originally trained as a biophysicist (Ph.D., University of Michigan), Sheella brings a distinctive blend
of scientific rigor and facilitation expertise, including drawing on neuroscience research to explain
what actually makes groups think well together. She designs and leads high-impact meetings and
structured decision processes that bring out the best in a group while keeping work moving forward.
Sheella Mierson, Ph.D. is Principal of Mierson Consulting, where she helps organizations design
decision-making structures and collaborative processes that enable people and teams to do their
best work in complex environments. She partners with leaders and teams to improve stakeholder
alignment, surface critical perspectives, and build the conditions for effective collaboration.
Originally trained as a biophysicist (Ph.D., University of Michigan), Sheella brings a distinctive blend
of scientific rigor and facilitation expertise, including drawing on neuroscience research to explain
what actually makes groups think well together. She designs and leads high-impact meetings and
structured decision processes that bring out the best in a group while keeping work moving forward.
*EVENT REGISTRATION:
- Active IIBA Members: Free (*Members must first login to the site with your member credentials (see "Member Login" link on the top-right of this page) and once logged in, then return to this page to register.)
- Non-IIBA Members: $5.00 (Please click the orange "Register" button above.)
Questions? Please contact the event organizers shown on this page.
