OBJECTIVES
To help your team identify the strengths of each other’s decision-making styles and implement a procedure for evaluating decisions.
ABOUT
The module helps teams examine how they make decisions together, avoid the pitfalls of negative patterns, and explore ways to be more inclusive as a team. This is not a session about how to make decisions, weigh options and evaluate results. It is instead a discussion of the processes a team uses when making decisions and how to engage all members equally and not defer to the leader. It is also about becoming mindful of the decision-making communication pattern the team tends to use and identify when it is working and when it is not.
WHEN TO USE
Use this Module when:
- teams have relegated decision making solely to the leader or a vocal member and don’t really decide as a group
- members complain that their opinions don’t count, and they feel powerless to suggest doing things differently
- the team leader has taken on the role of “decider in chief” and wants to do a better job of including members
- team meetings have become sessions where members give their input and then relegate the final decisions to the leader
- members don’t own the results or outcomes because they figure these were the sole responsibility of the leader
This module, Enhancing Our Team Creativity, has two components.
1) The Discussion Guide
This discussion guide, which is what the team members complete, contains step-by-step interactive fields, check boxes, and open fill-in spaces. This guide can be completed online using the interactive pdf and then shared or referenced as the team discusses each step. Some steps are designed to be completed together.
The supporting worksheet can be used with the module and repeatedly in the future whenever the pros and cons of a decision need to be evaluated and discussed.
2) Facilitator/User’s Guide
These support materials are available to help guide the leader or facilitator through the steps of the discussion guide. A completed worksheet is also provided as an example to refer to as team members learn to use it.
The facilitator may be an outside consultant, the team leader, or one of the team members. However, everyone can help ensure success by reading through some of the tips and suggestions in this guide.
NOTES FROM DR. PATRICK HANDLEY
Acknowledge that on many issues it’s okay for leaders to take responsibility for making certain decisions. Team members may even prefer this. Indecisive leaders can be as frustrating as autocratic or over controlling leaders.
The critical issue is that the team is included in the decision regarding who will make the decision. Members seek clarity on the process. They want to know who makes the decision and when. Naturally, they want to be included on as many important decisions as possible. All that said, the suggestion here is to have this discussion, particularly before the second step that addresses decision making alternatives.
Another frustration point for members, particularly established teams, is that people have different decision making styles. Just as their personalities are different, their preference for processions options and coming to conclusions is different. When engaging members in the discussion of decision-making style types in Step 3, be sure to validate the best decisions are a combination of knowledge, experience, and timing.
Style enters into this but is secondary even though it can be the most obvious difference, and again the most frustrating when others use style opposite from yours. An open discussion of this takes the bite out of the difference and can lead teams to enjoy each other’s styes, find humor in and, and also see the advantage at times of certain styles.
STEPS
In this module team members:
1) role of decision making in healthy team functioning
2) discover the advantage of different decision-making alternatives and discuss when to use each and existing patterns
3) explore the four primary decision-making styles and when they work well and when they frustrate others
4) agree on strategies for altering existing decision-making patterns when needed
LEADER/FACILITATOR TIPS
Acknowledge that on many issues it’s okay for leaders to take responsibility for making certain decisions. Team members may even prefer this. Indecisive leaders can be as frustrating as autocratic or over controlling leaders. The critical issue is that the team is included in the decision regarding who will make the decision.
Members seek clarity on the decision-making process. They want to know who makes the decision and when. Naturally, they want to be included on as many important decisions as possible. All that said, the suggestion here is to have this discussion, particularly before the second step that addresses decision making alternatives.
Another frustration point for members, particularly established teams, is that people have different decision making styles. Just as their personalities are different, their preference for processions options and coming to conclusions is different. When engaging members in the discussion of decision-making style types in Step 3, be sure to validate the best decisions are a combination of knowledge, experience, and timing.
Style enters into decision making, but is secondary even though it can be the most obvious difference. The most frustrating when others use style opposite from yours. An open discussion of this takes the bite out of the difference and can lead teams to enjoy each other’s styes, find humor in and, and also see the advantage at times of certain styles.
COMBINATIONS and PAIRINGS
A strong combination is to use Mod 10 Creativity and Mod 11 Decision Making together help team members make better and more creative decisions.
Mod 12 and Mod 11 Help team members focus meetings on either reaching decisions, having the right kind of discussion, and ensuring meetings end with clear points of departure
Mod 10, Mod 11, Mod 12 Good trifecta for helping teams have more creative, problem solving meetings and clarify when to have these as opposed to weekly status updates