• If an employee doesn’t contribute in meetings because of apathy
or laziness, ask her to prepare for meetings and require her to make at least one contribution per meeting. Offer to coach the employee in how to become a stronger contributor to team meetings. To aid the employee in preparing for meetings, give her a copy of the agenda or proposed topics. Then ask the employee to write two or three sentences giving her thoughts, opinions, and suggestions regarding each topic. Require her to turn these in to you before meetings and coach her in how to form suggestions based on what she has written. Do this for two or three meetings.

• Ask the employee to lead a meeting. After taking some of these
preliminary steps, ask the employee to lead a meeting. Help him be successful by aiding him in preparation, but once you and he are in the meeting, do not take over.

• If the employee is hesitant to be assertive, consider assertiveness
training. Prior to that, however, take the time to tell the employee
how entitled she is to assert her opinions and objections. Offer
your support, and encourage the employee to speak up in the next
meeting.

Taken From: 201 Ways to Turn Any Employee Into a STAR Performer