Establishing Clear Decision-Making Processes

View or download the printable version of the Quick Guide to Establishing Clear Decision-Making Processes (PDF).

Being intentional and clear about how decisions are made helps teams avoid conflict and wasted effort and improves the quality of team decisions.

What does this look like?

• The team makes decisions in an efficient, effective manner.
• Team members agree on how to make important decisions and how much time and energy should be devoted to each decision.
• Everyone is clear about their role in decision-making.
• Team members make decisions based on evidence and analysis, rather than personality clashes.

Signs you may have a problem

• There is frequent disagreement among team members about how to make decisions and what each person’s role in a decision should be.
• Team members’ expertise is treated as equal when decisions involve a specific area of expertise.
• Unilateral decisions are made when there is a lot at stake and a consensus, or at least a majority, is needed. As a result, people who were not consulted push back and resist decisions.
• Conversely, a lot of time and energy is spent trying to gain a consensus for a decision that really doesn’t require it.
• The team often spends too much time on less important and less risky decisions or too little time on important or risky decisions.

How to improve

Clarify each person’s role in decision-making.

For each person, is their role to:

• Make recommendations?
• Provide input?
• Exercise veto power if they object (i.e., their agreement is required to proceed)
• Make the final decision?
• Carry out the decision (i.e., perform the work)?

Clarify the best way to make a particular decision.

Determine and clarify within the team:

• When do you need a majority to support a decision?
• Which decisions require consensus?
• Does everyone get a veto?
• How much external buy-in do you need?
• How much risk is there in the decision?
• What would the likely consequences be of a wrong decision?