Like most teams, my project group has had some difficulty making some of our decisions over the last few months. To be fair, we've done a fairly good job of making smaller decisions regarding tasks or even individual roles. But coming to a consensus on bigger content-oriented questions has been difficult at times, and set us back on the project timeline. Last quarter we didn't pick our problem statement until about a month into the quarter, and we're still picking the organization we'll be auditing this quarter.
So what goes wrong to cause decision-making so difficult in teams, and what can be done to make these decisions easier?
We decided to read "when teams can't decide," an article by Frisch in the Harvard Business Review.
Frisch argues that one of the big problems is that many teams don't ask the right question when a decision needs to be made...
He also talks about the executive decision when an impasse is reached, and how it can lead to resentment and lack of buy-in.
So how can teams come to a decision that will be accepted and embraced by all the members? In a group of four like ours, this buy-in is extremely important.
I think we'll need to frame the question and desired outcome better. What exactly are we looking for from the organization we pick? Do we want an organization that is a leader in the field so we can build on what they're doing right? Maybe we want a company that is making good money? Maybe we want to look at an organization with the same mission statement as us but which is struggling so we can make some helpful recommendations? Or maybe we want someone who will be excited to work with us and share lots of information.
If we can agree on some criteria first, then I think that picking an organization will be much easier.
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteDon't worry! Our team is still picking our business too. We're hoping to decide on Wednesday.
Our team has been talking a lot about how reaching consensus does not mean that what we choose is everyone first choice but it is a decision that we can all live with. This helps us in decision making.
When we were working on narrowing our list, Marsha suggested that we create an excel doc. List the companies on the side and the criteria in which to examine the companies across the top, then fill in the criteria for each company and rank them if possible. This might get at your question "What exactly are we looking for from the organization we pick?"
Don't know if this helped or not. :)
Hope you had a great weekend!
Molly
Chris, I hope (and trust) you've made your decision by now -- and I hope you figured out an approach to decision-making. This will likely be a lifelong learning exercise!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that makes decision-making particularly difficult for BGI teams is that these are "leaderless" or "leaderfull" teams -- that is, there is not a single designated leader who is ultimately responsible for making decisions, calling the shots, organizing the project, etc. Absent that clear authority, you are thrown into an amorphous and ambiguous "group process" for trying to figure this out.
The technique that Marsha suggested is tried and true, as is a technique that Teri will be sharing with you this weekend, which involves multiple comparisons of two options. But beyond that, there is the question of how the group works together to make decisions. This is more difficult.
I expect there are a lot of good resources out there on the web, but a print resource I've found helpful over the years is "Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-making" by Sam Kaner.