How can decision making models improve team morale?

Sometimes, people will expect you to come up with the ideas because of your position and experience. We find saying something like, "I have some ideas that I'd like to bounce off you all, but first I'd like to hear about your thoughts", is a good way of getting some discussions going, especially if they are expecting you to take the initiative.

The autocratic model asserts the leader's status and devalues the other stakeholders as there are no other options anyway. If one needs to resort to this model, transparency is key to help people swallow the pill.

This consultative model can also be seen as a manipulative way to decide because at the end of the day, you never know if the decision-maker really heard you or made you believe you were heard and was already set on a decision prior the discussion.

Inspiring leaders who motivate their team often use coaching skills to foster a collaborative and innovative work culture. It's hard work but when leaders are coaches, teams are better engaged, more motivated and talent retention rate is higher.

Think of delegating as a form of empowerment but with some semblance of control over where you are going. The risk comes when you haven't explained the big picture well enough, and people simply do what's delegated without having to think outside the box. It's more like following instructions. With empowerment, the person has to come up with ideas themselves, feeling autonomously that they can work on ideas without having to have permission granted to them.

Delegation is a good way of training your team to take on more responsibilities and ownership of the work duties. You are allowing your team to try independently while you can mentor or coach them, when necessary. The art of "letting go" is an attitude of the superior need to have rather than having the feeling of an "inferior complex." This is also great for succession planning to promote your team when they are ready to move on to higher appointments.

People stay for their leaders, for the way they make decisions, value the individuals in their teams, and engage them in the overall success of the organisation. The big picture of decision making process is the talent retention rate you get and the culture you create.

For teamwork and leadership development of the staff, it is important to involve them and to take ownership of the decision making process. The junior staff will also observe how the senior management manage the decision making process as a form of organisation culture, particularly when certain decisions made were wrong and how to do the damage controls.