|
Master Your Game
This Issue: Group Decision-Making Processes
Dear Reader,
Summary
You've outlined a tight agenda and designed
an effective meeting process. The next step is to move
discussion forward through efficient and effective decision-making. This article explains six decision rules and
their appropriate uses.
The Need for Decisions
In meetings, the point-of-decision is the
point that separates thinking from action. From this
point onward, reality will be reflected by the
decision, and from now on objections are officially
out of line.*
Decision-making involves these four distinct steps:
- Ending the discussion
- Clarifying the proposal
- Polling the group members
- Using the group's decision rule to reach a final decision.
A decision rule allows you to move forward. It
answers the question "How do we know when we've
made a decision?" There are more choices for the
decision rule other than "what the chair says"
and "by a show of hands." Here are some of them.
Six Decision Rules Recommendations
Depending on the nature of the topic and the
importance, you may choose to have a standing
decision rule for all decisions or a rule for each
topic.
Whatever your choice, it's important that the group
formally decides how to make decisions. This ensures
that everyone knows what he or she is committing
to.
- Spontaneous agreement
Why: Fast, easy
When: Used when discussion isn't vital or
the issue is not complex.
- Person in charge decides
Why: Fast and accountability is clear,
however may
not be supported if the opinions of the group are not
taken into account.
When: Low stake decisions are a good
opportunity to practice using this rule. Use caution for high stakes
decisions. Unfortunately, group members may say
what they believe their boss wants to hear and may
not express their true opinions.
- Compromise
Why: A middle position is attained that
incorporates
ideas from both sides. Everyone wins and everyone
also loses.
When: Used when two opposing solutions
are proposed. The optimum strategy for this situation
may be to re-open the discussion with an
experienced facilitator to look for a more inclusive
both/and solution. This will take more time and the
success of implementation will be significantly
increased.
- Majority Vote. Usually taken by a show
of hands or a secret ballot.
Why: Fast. Quality of the decision is
increased by a
full discussion of the issue taking into account other
people's opinions.
When: Used when there are two distinct
options.
- Unanimous Agreement
Why: Collaborative effort that builds buy-in
and a
high commitment to implementation. May be time
consuming.
When: Used when the importance of the
decision being made is worth the time it will take
to gain
consensus.
- Gradients of Agreement. After the
proposal is clarified, group members are asked to
evaluate the proposal on a predetermined scale that
would indicate the degree of support. A
predetermined scale might be as follows:
| 5
| Total support with no concerns.
|
| 4
| Support with minor concerns.
|
| 3
| Support with significant concerns. Can live with it.
|
| 2
| Disagree with it, but will go with majority.
|
| 1
| Block. Cannot support it or be held accountable
for implementation.
|
Why: Based on the dispersion of the votes,
the person in charge will either make the decision or
continue the discussion. In the case of a unanimous
agreement, the decision rule might be that support is
required at the top two levels by all members to
proceed with a decision.
When: Used to assist the person in charge
to make a
decision or to modify the unanimous agreement rule.
Rate Your Decision-Making Effectiveness
How are decisions made in your meetings?
- Does one person make all the decisions, or is
there a sharing of authority?
- Does the group generally make good decisions at
meetings?
- Do we tend to end topics before getting into new
ones?
- Do we work hard to make collaborative decisions
that we can all live with?
- Are we clear when a decision has been made?
I have observed and participated in many meetings
where the difference between having issues resolved
or stalled was influenced by the way decision-making
was handled. Introduce a decision rule to your next
meeting and let me know how it affects your meeting
dynamics. I would love to hear your success stories.
Wishing you effective meetings,
Jacque Small
*Adapted from a Facilitator's Guide to Participatory
Decision-Making, Sam Kaner, Lenny Lind, Catherine
Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duane Berger
When you are faced with a decision,
the best thing is to do the right thing, the next best
is to do the wrong thing, and the worst is to do
nothing.
– Roger Enrico, former CEO, Pepsi Cola
Catalyst
Business Coaching is a corporate development organization. It
works with people who want to achieve a greater
sense of success for both themselves and others in
the organization. It supports people to develop
strong interpersonal communication skills and build
foundations to develop dynamic teams. Jacque
Small, principal and owner of Catalyst, founded the
company in 2000.
|
