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The Step-by-Step Guide to Facilitating Team Decision Making

Post by Jamie Johnson

In a business environment, the most successful teams are the ones that have learned to work through problems and make decisions together. But as a team leader, facilitating successful team decision making is no small feat. This is especially true in a work environment where personal agendas and office politics can cloud people’s judgment and lead to petty arguments.

It is, however, common knowledge that an effective team will outperform individual efforts any day. The right combination of skills and different perspectives can lead to something much more impactful than what any one person could have come up with.

So how can team leaders facilitate successful team decision making? Well, that’s what we’re here to teach you. It should be noted, though, that the dynamics of each team will be unique. So, while there is no one-size-fits-all solution, including the right one for your business can greatly improve your team’s chances for success.

The Advantages of Team Decision Making

Team decision making can be formal or informal, depending on the environment and the goal the group is working toward. Many people worry that team decision making will be a slow, arduous process that will result in a lot of arguing. And while this certainly does happen, there are also many advantages to team decision making.

  • Collective Wisdom: One of the biggest advantages is that the collective wisdom of the group can be much more profound than what any individual could have come up with.
  • Diverse Perspectives: Every person on the team will have different strengths and backgrounds that shape their perspective. This means that everyone on the team can contribute different high-quality solutions.
  • Better Outcomes: When more people are involved in the decision-making process, the decisions tend to be better because a greater level of ideas and expertise were brought to the surface.
  • Commitment: Team members are usually more committed to implementing the solution because they understand the thought and effort that went into it.

💡 Process Tip

Are you looking to document and run your processes? Don't use MS Word, Google Docs, or flowcharts. Documenting your processes using flowcharts might look pretty and nice – but you can’t run them. Even worse – nobody looks at flowcharts.

5 Steps to Facilitating Successful Team Decision Making

When you think about team decision making, you most likely have mixed reactions. As we already established, bringing together a group of people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives can be a powerful source of change. However, finding the right process for successful team decision making is crucial to avoid frustration.

Here are a couple of things that can help facilitate team decision making:

1 Break down the problem

Unless your team knows what, exactly, the problem is, you’ll end up wasting a lot of time. Everyone needs to know what the underlying problem is; otherwise, it’ll lead to arguing and chaos. Everyone starts solving a different problem, which eventually leads to conflicts. So, the first step is to always break down the problem into the tiniest details, ensuring that everyone knows what it is.

2 Analyze the available data

Now that the team has outlined and understands the problem, they need to gather more information. The team leader should try to guide the team toward focusing on data rather than relying on opinions or anecdotal evidence. It is important to make sure the data is collected ahead of time so the process won’t be slowed down or temporarily stalled.

3 Brainstorm possible solutions

The next step in the process is for the group to brainstorm possible solutions to the problem. It is a good idea for the group to agree on a deadline for the brainstorming session ahead of time so the discussion doesn’t drag on indefinitely. It is also important that everyone is allowed to offer their input without criticism.

4 Navigate the group discussion

The team leader should navigate the group discussion. It is hard to make sure that everyone has a chance to share their ideas, that the group stays on topic, and that the discussion remains cordial. For that reason, the team leader should navigate the discussion to make sure the group stays focused on their main objectives and everyone has a chance to participate.

5 Settle on a solution and action steps

Now that everyone has offered their input and you have come up with a variety of solutions, it is time to choose the best alternative. To select the best alternative, the team must know what their desired outcome would look like and also what are the possible consequences of that outcome. If everyone on the team is not committed to fully supporting that decision you risk invalidating it entirely.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to facilitate successful team decision making, you have the potential to be a much better leader. After all, what defines a good leader is how efficient their team is.