Decision Making

It should be obvious, but I think that it is useful that, as a manager, you share with your team how decisions are made.

Typically, when you, as a manager, have to make a decision, you need to consider two aspects. Normally, in a business environment, a decision has to be made fairly fast. So, time is important. On the other hand, you want to have a large level of acceptance from your staff. Getting acceptance from your staff, typically, takes a lot of time and at the extreme, is not forthcoming. So, I suggest communicating with your team how decisions are being made.

Here are few ways of making decision.
Boss decides – fastest / lowest level of staff acceptance.
Boss solicits feedback from staff and then makes the decision – takes more time, a bit better level acceptance.
Delegate decision to a sub-committee – takes longer, good level of acceptance.
Majority decides after thorough discussion – takes a fair bit of time, good level of acceptance.
Consensuses, meaning, all have to agree – time-consuming but highest level of acceptance. When using this style it is a good idea to have a backup plan by establishing how you would proceed if you cannot reach consensus.

In many cases, it makes sense to make the decision, agree on a review date and check if it works well. This step will also overcome possible resitance as well.

And here is my key point about discussing the decision making process with your team:
1. Communicate clearly how decisions are being made.
2. Highlight that after the decision has been made, every team member needs to have trust in the decision (makers) and has to accept the decision. Every team member has to put in 100% effort into implementing the decision. Grumbling or questioning the decision again is hindering the implementation and is not an option.