5 Decision-Making Approaches

In a life-and-death situation, decision-making, although stressful, can be somewhat clear-cut: someone – a surgeon in an operating room or a general in a war, for example - is in charge of making the decision, and those reporting to them – junior doctors, nurses, officers and foot soldiers – are responsible for following them. In industry, decision-making tends to be less black-and-white. Often, as a group member, your leaders may need your input, and you likely expect them to consider it. 

As a manager in industry, depending on the situation, you might want to take advantage of the participation of your group members, and you may choose to select from 5 decision-making approaches:

1. You need to make the decision yourself (for example, a confidential decision on organizational restructuring)

2. You want or need the input from group members before making the decision

3. You see an advantage to collaborating with the group on a consensus decision. Note:  This one can be tricky, and it is always best to describe a back-up approach in case consensus cannot be reached. For example, you might decide to seek a level three decision, but if consensus cannot be reached in an hour, it becomes a level two decision.

4. You prefer your group members to make the decision with your input or

5. You want your group to make the decision without your involvement

The greater freedom available to managers in industry can be powerful because it gives the manager the opportunity to bring the group's experience to bear on the decision-making process, allowing them to feel empowered and take more ownership of certain decisions. On the other hand, if the manager is unclear about which decision-making approach to use, it can lead to confusion, inefficiency, and, in some cases, frustration within the group. 

Before any discussion, the manager must be clear with the group about which decision-making level will apply to each decision the group is addressing. Imagine the impact on a group if they believe that an issue they are discussing is level four (the group will make the decision with input from the manager) when the manager has decided that it is actually level two (the manager will make the decision after taking input from the group). 

CruxMove Consulting taught me this approach to decision-making many years ago and, although I am a slow learner and it took me a couple of years to see the value of the approach and the risks of not being clear on who “calls the shots” on any given decision, I have used it consistently with my leadership teams since then.  Even now, in the democracy that is Brizzey LLC, we still pay attention to these important rules.

This article was posted as a guest blog on CruxMove Consulting's website.