Team Productivity: Setting Your Team Decision Process Part 2

Team Decision Processes – What Should They Be?

This post discusses two of many possible decision processes.  The point is not to try to force every team to make decisions the same way, rather to reinforce the power of writing your processes out and making sure everyone understands them and knows when they apply.

From Part 1: When I was asked by a client to write a bit about a Team Decision Process or Model, I thought that since we had been managing like this for 25+ years, it would be simple.  8 hours of research later, we are still convinced that this is a great practice.  It plays directly into the center of the transparency and empowerment movements.  We are not advocating that Teams make all decisions, just that your process is written, agreed to, and people understand it.

If you want to improve your teams’ productivity, read on!

Our Productivity Seminar covers these and many more topics in an experiential way.  www.dataanalysis.com/speaking  Info@DataAnalysis.com.  Contact us to bring Darrel Raynor in-house to help uncover productivity drains and to help you break free of habits that have sprung up over the years.

This part 2 post of the 2 part series discusses Team Decision Processes – What Should They Be to improve your Team Productivity.  See Part 1 of the series for background and how to think about Decision Processes.

Two Reasonable Decision Processes

While there are a myriad, and sometimes byzantine, of decision processes possible, we feel most stem from two main types:

1. Authoritarian – Contrary to some beliefs, these types of decision processes work quite well.  They are based on either formal authority, as in the military, or by an executive with specific designated responsibility.  An example is a department head approving an offer letter salary amount recommended by Human Resources.  Authoritarian Decision Processes are usually very effective in hierarchical or expert situations especially where there are financial or political ramifications.
2. Democratic – These involve some form of voting, active or passive, and some strive for the elusive “consensus.”  An example is a team deciding what type of pizza to get.  There are few financial or controversial aspects other than who likes what type.  You can even order a pizza with ingredients on only one half!  Democratic Decision Processes are usually very effective in situations where you need at least some form of consensus and where uncertainty is very high, such as Agile teams doing innovation projects where no one is an expert.  This is an example of the Wisdom of Teams.

Authoritarian Decision Process Outline

Here is an example Power/Assigned-Based Decision Process outline.  Communicate something like the following to those involved both verbally and formally in a process.

1. Jeremy, the head of production, will decide this one, since his team will be responsible for meeting production and margin goals.  We will use our Power/Assigned-Based Decision Process documented here <url>.
2. Jeremy will start a thread and file storage spot in our collaborative environment here <url> for any new or shared documents and any reference url links.  Those interested please comment in writing in <threads> there by <date>.  Please do not email or repeat.  Use the [like] icon to show agreement.
3. After a period of time for comments, ask “Does everyone understand and can live with Jeremy making this decision?  This means you will support the decision Jeremy makes publicly.  If not, please say so now or contact me privately within the next two hours.”
4. Jeremy will draft his position there by <date>.
5. If anyone thinks we need a short meeting to tease out any remaining information, please read the draft and threads and post your meeting request by <date>.
6. Jeremy will make and document the decision there by <date>.  Everyone involved is asked to directly support this decision process and the decision once it is made.

Democratic/Consensus Decision Process Outline

Here is an example Democratic/Consensus Decision Process outline.  Communicate something like the following to those involved both verbally and formally in a process.

1. The Team will decide this one.  We will use our Democratic/Consensus Decision Process documented here <url>.
2. The 3 people that seem to know the most or have high interest about this are: <name1, name2, and name3> and will be the Decision Makers (DM’s).
3. Are we in agreement that these three should collaborate as the 3 DM’s?  If anyone disagrees, please say so now and we will decide who the 3 DM’s will be by voting.
4. After a period of time for comments, ask “Does everyone understand and can live with the 3 DM’s making this decision?  This means you will support the decision they make publicly.  If not, please say so now or contact me privately within the next two hours.”
5. Lola will lead the process.  She will start a thread and file storage spot in our collaborative environment here <url> for any new or shared documents and any reference url links.  Those interested please comment in writing in <threads> there by <date>.  Please do not email or repeat.  Use the [like] icon to show agreement.
6. The rest of the team and anyone else interested should volunteer their opinions in writing in <threads> there by <date>.
7. The 3 DM’s will draft their position there by <date>.
8. The 3 DM’s will request information from others if they need it.
9. If anyone thinks we need a short meeting to tease out any remaining information, please read the draft and threads and post your meeting request by <date>.
10. The 3 DM’s will make and document the decision there by <date>.  They will have at least 2 DM’s in favor and one “who can live with” the decision or more research and meetings may be required.  In case the 3 DM’s cannot come to a decision, we will add 2 people and it becomes 3 of 5 in favor with at least one of the others “who can live with” the decision.  Everyone involved is asked to directly support this decision process and the decision once it is made.

Moving to a stated decision process is a Business Transformation Change Effort.  We have found that just dumping a process and announcing a time or two in email and staff meetings is not enough.  You must have a plan, convince people to work with you and your process, and lead by example by demonstrating it working successfully.  We cover more about this here www.projectvictories.com/author/draynor.

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What Should Leaders Do to Leverage Decision Processes?  Your Thoughts?

Thoughts on how you can best improve your skills that we did not touch on?  Good luck and keep your eye out for ways to improve your decision processes for your teams!

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