There are two things that everyone in the organization should agree on and commit to:
- The organization’s mission and
- A clear decision-making process that invites the opinions of each team member and mines for disagreement.
If those criteria are met, leaders don’t need consensus or unanimous support before making an effective decision. In fact, waiting for unanimous support before making any decisions will reduce organizational impact and effectiveness.
I invite you to take a quick vocabulary quiz, review your current decision-making process, and commit to some improvements in light of what comes to mind.
First, consensus and unanimity are not the same thing:
“Consensus: the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned”
“Unanimous: having the agreement and consent of all.”
— Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Second, while consensus or unanimity may inform decision-making, neither is required for effective decision making and execution.
Sports coaches and captains make decisions based on information. Many team members may agree on the decision at the outset (consensus). Or maybe they all see the wisdom of the decision (unanimity). Once the decision is made, if the whole team doesn’t commit to it, it won’t work. Even after committing to a decision, things may not work out. The opposing team may still neutralize or counter the plans. But, Successful teams don’t quit at halftime when first half plans fail. They counsel together, often disagreeing. Then they make adjustments and commit to decisions made by their leaders.
“When leadership teams wait for consensus [or unanimity] before taking action, they usually end up with decisions that are made too late and are mildly disagreeable to everyone. This is a recipe for mediocrity and frustration.”
— Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage
“A bad decision process is based on shallow thinking. A good process is grounded in deep thinking and rethinking, enabling people to form and express independent opinions.”
. . .
“Requiring proof” that a particular decision will yield a specific result “is an enemy of progress. This is why companies like Amazon use a principle of disagree and commit.”
— Adam Grant, Think Again
“Great teams . . . pride themselves on being able to unite behind decisions and commit to clear courses of action even when there is little assurance about whether the decision is correct.”
— Patrick Lencioni, Five Dysfunctions of a Team
“The higher the stakes of a company, the less tolerance people should have for a lone dissenter to stop everything in its tracks.”
— Table Group Podcast, “The Lone Dissenter”
Do you and your team believe that what you’re doing is high stakes? Are you educating young people, helping individuals with disabilities live better lives, or empowering parents to advocate for their children and communities? Are you improving the lives of individuals or communities with a quality product or service?
Whatever your organization is doing matters to someone. So being decisive and effective matters. Commit to a process that allows team members to disagree and enables leaders to decide based on independent opinions and expertise. Then commit to the decisions made and hold each other accountable for results. Make adjustments as you learn what is and isn’t working.
Now for the “exit ticket” – the review:
- Does your team have a good decision making process?
- Is the process clear to all team members and do they know who is the ultimate decider?
- Is everyone committed to follow decisions that are made because the decision making process is sound?
If you answered no to any of those questions, what can you to today to improve, clarify, and/or communicate your decision making process?