Making decisions as a team requires a shared understanding and procedure for accomplishment. The confusion and strife that occurs because the team cannot decide will ruin any progress made on the work. For decisions to be made quickly and the work to be completed on-time, on-budget, within quality, while the team still gets along, a known and agreed-upon procedure must be used.

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How to Make Decisions on Team Tasks

Using good decision-making procedures can positively affect your team and the work that the team must complete. Using work for Team Building.

• You’ll be more efficient.
• Team members will be more committed to the course of action and more willing to do the project work.
• Results will happen faster.
• Meetings will be shortened.

What to do:

1. Determine the decision that has to be made.
2. Select and apply the most time-efficient decision-making approach that will also meet the needs for quality and acceptance.
3. When using the group approach, choose the decision-making tools that make the most sense for the situation.
4. Resist the temptation to overuse consensus.

Checklist: Selecting a Decision-Making Approach

Unilateral: One person makes the decision, acting alone. □ The decision needs to be made quickly. □ The person doing the deciding has the right expertise to make a high-quality decision. □ There is a low need for acceptance of this decision by others.

Consultative: One person decides after consulting with others. □ There is enough time available to consult with others on the decision. □ The right people with the right expertise to make a high-quality decision are being consulted. □ It makes sense to consult others because their acceptance of this decision is required.

Group: The entire team makes the decision together. □ There is enough time to get everyone’s perspective. □ The team includes people with the right expertise to come to a high-quality decision. □ It makes sense to involve everyone because the team’s acceptance of this decision is required.

While no decision-making method is a guaranteed solution, slowing down to think through the decision-making approach will yield improved outcomes:

• What has to be decided?
• In what ways can I increase the cooperation & agreement?
• Am I relying too much on consensus?
• Do others care as much as I do OR as I think they do about this decision?