What are some techniques for ensuring equal input in decision-making?

1 Define the purpose and criteria

Before you start soliciting input from others, make sure you have a clear and shared understanding of the purpose and criteria of the decision. What is the goal, the problem, or the opportunity that you are trying to address? What are the constraints, requirements, or preferences that you need to consider? How will you measure the success or impact of the decision? Having a common framework can help you align your expectations, communicate your needs, and evaluate your options.

2 Use a variety of methods

Depending on the context, size, and diversity of your group, you may need to use different methods to collect and analyze input from others. Some common methods include surveys, polls, brainstorming, focus groups, interviews, feedback forms, voting, ranking, and consensus building. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, so you should choose the ones that suit your purpose, criteria, and group dynamics. You should also consider using a combination of methods to reach different audiences, encourage participation, and cross-check results.

3 Encourage and support participation

One of the biggest challenges in ensuring equal input is overcoming the barriers that prevent some people from expressing their opinions, such as fear, bias, power, or lack of information. To create a more participatory culture, you should encourage and support everyone to contribute their input, regardless of their role, background, or experience. You can do this by setting clear and respectful norms, asking open-ended and probing questions, acknowledging and appreciating contributions, providing feedback and follow-up, and addressing any conflicts or concerns.

4 Synthesize and summarize input

Once you have collected input from others, you need to synthesize and summarize it in a way that reflects the diversity and richness of the perspectives and information. You should avoid cherry-picking, generalizing, or misrepresenting the input, as this can undermine the trust and credibility of the decision-making process. Instead, you should look for patterns, themes, gaps, and outliers in the input, and present them in a clear and concise manner. You should also explain how you used the input to inform your decision, and how it relates to the purpose and criteria.

5 Share and validate input

Before you finalize your decision, you should share and validate the input that you synthesized and summarized with the people who provided it. This is an important step to ensure that you have interpreted and represented the input accurately, and that you have not missed or overlooked any important information or perspectives. You should invite feedback and questions from the input providers, and be open to making adjustments or revisions based on their responses. You should also thank them for their input, and acknowledge their role and value in the decision-making process.

6 Evaluate and improve input

After you have made and implemented your decision, you should evaluate and improve the input that you received and used in the decision-making process. You should assess how the input influenced the outcome and impact of the decision, and how it aligned with the purpose and criteria. You should also solicit feedback from the input providers and other stakeholders on how they experienced and perceived the decision-making process, and what they learned from it. You should use this feedback to identify and address any gaps, challenges, or opportunities for improvement in ensuring equal input in future decisions.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?