DECISION-MAKING AT WORK

Business owners and managers deal with many problems: slow sales, product defects, customer service complaints, ineffective new software, rising health care costs - whatever.

What Can You Do?

How can you go about making decisions that will solve problems? The success of your solution may depend on the decision-making process you use. You have several options:

  • Tell and Sell. You think you have a good solution. So, you announce your decision and sell it to your employees.

  • Ask for Input. You ask employees to make suggestions about the issue. Using this input, you decide.

  • Delegate. You turn the problem over to an individual, team, or other group and empower them to make the decision.
  • Consensus. You develop a decision by consensus. This requires a carefully designed, collaborative effort by you and the appropriate team, affected group of employees or other stakeholders.

So, how do you pick an option?

Tell and Sell

Tell and Sell makes sense when:

  • A quick decision is imperative. An urgent matter comes up and there is no time to ask for input or work through a consensus decision.
  • The issue is of minor consequence. The color of the striping in the parking lot won't be noticed by most people. So, just do it.
  • Everyone understands that the decision is yours to make.

Despite the move toward self-directed teams, Tell and Sell is probably the dominant way decisions are made in most businesses. There are some potential problems with Tell and Sell:

  • You try to sell a decision. But, they don't buy it and resist implementation - sometimes even sabotage the decision.
  • There might be a better idea out there somewhere among your workforce. You aren't using the intellectual capital that you are paying for.

Asking for Input

Asking for Input works best when:

  • You need to make a decision and want ideas from your employees before you decide. Consensus would take too much time or be "overkill" for this issue.
  • Acknowledging the opinions or preferences of some of your employees will improve moral.

A warning about Asking for Input:

  • Ignoring advice or opinions, after asking for it, invites resentment.
  • Be honest. If you already know what your decision will be, use Tell and Sell.

Delegating

Delegating can be an excellent way to handle a problem. It may:

  • Give you more time.
  • Provide an opportunity to develop a team.
  • Offer a "stretch" task for an individual.
  • Build wider acceptance for the decisions that are made.

If you delegate a problem, be sure that you are:

  • Clear whether the team is "recommending" or "deciding."
  • Explicit about constraints on solutions.
  • Sure that the team can do the job.

Consensus

In recent years, organizations have been shifting toward more collaborative decision-making by consensus. This fits the "flatter" organizational structures of today.

Consensus is when 100% of a group can support a decision - even though not all members may totally agree with it. Consensus does not compromise any strong convictions or needs and produces a "win-win" solution. It is different than voting - which often leaves a sense of having "won" or "lost."

Decisions developed through consensus are most frequently innovative solutions that emerge during the process - ideas that would never have been mentioned during an ordinary discussion about a problem.

Consensus decision-making is much more than just having a discussion about an issue, summarizing the dominant solution and then asking, "Any objections? ... Then it's decided."

Sam Kaner, author of Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making describes three stages:

  • The Divergent Zone. The goal is to create as many alternative perspectives on the problem, generate as many unusual and innovative ideas, and raise as many difficult issues as possible.
  • The Groan Zone. The group focuses on promoting mutual understanding of the diverse thoughts offered by members. Building interpersonal relationships is also emphasized during this stage.
  • The Convergent Zone. Exploring alternatives and synthesizing them into a solution that will work for everyone is the task of this stage. Creative problem-solving, shifting paradigms or making different assumptions about the problem, and critical reasoning are essential in reaching consensus.

Building consensus through collaborative decision-making will:

  • Increase the support for implementation among your workforce and other stakeholders.
  • Encourage employee participation.
  • Produce higher-quality decisions.

If you choose to achieve consensus, remember that pursuing a decision-making process will:

  • Take more time than other approaches.
  • Require a skilled facilitator.

Picking an Option

Consider these criteria when you are picking an approach

  • How big an issue is it?
  • How important is "buy-in"?
  • How much time can you spend on this issue?
  • Do you have people with facilitation skills?

All the options are appropriate for different situations. Consider the suitability of each for decisions you must make.

Want to learn more? Improve your decision-making? Read Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Kaner, How to Lead Work Teams by Rees, Facilitation Skills for Team Leaders by Jackett and Martin, or Hunter, Bailey and Taylor's The Art of Facilitation.


How do you handle decision-making? Who do you know that is a great decision-maker? Send your stories, quotes, thoughts. As space permits, I will try to publish them. Send them to Glen@SolutionLeader.com.

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It's been my life's work and my passion to help individuals and organizations create their own best futures. Let's work on it. You can do it!

PLEASE CALL ME at 704-788-9184 or Email me at Glen@SolutionLeader.com.