Decisions, decisions..

I ran a couple of LinkedIn polls recently to try and understand more about the nature and status of decision making in different organizations. Take a look below for a summary of the findings, along with some thoughts on how things could be improved.

The results are in

To varying degrees, and perhaps unsurprisingly, when asked to describe decision making in their organization, the vast majority of people (98%)?feel that things are sub-optimal and that things can be improved (see Chart 1, below).

What’s perhaps more interesting are the views on potential solutions; more than half of the people who responded cited clearer accountability as a way to improve decision making, and a further third thought that a simplified process / framework would help. Only 10% of respondents thought that more data or clearer objectives / metrics were required (see Chart 2, below).

To me this suggests?that, in broad terms, organizations are simply getting in their own way; people are clear on objectives, they have enough information – they just can’t seem to organize themselves effectively.

Why might this be the case? Is it the size of the organization? Is it a capability gap? A capacity issue?

Clearly every organization is different, and there are likely many cultural issues also at play, but in very simple terms there are three key questions that are worth considering when it comes to improving decision making:

?Questions to consider

Are we clear on the decision(s) to be made?

Don’t underestimate the power of asking this question! Often multiple things get conflated, or teams end up down rabbit holes on issues that have already been decided. Nailing down the ‘exam question’ ensures discussions stay focused and teams can move forward.

Who has what role in the decision?

There are many decision-making models (RACI, DACI, RASCI, CAIRO, RAPID, PASCI… the list goes on) but, for me, it boils down to three fundamental roles*:

• Decision maker: the person (and there should be only one) making the decision. This is not necessarily the most senior person on the team, in fact decisions should be delegated to the most appropriate level in the organization.
• Advisor(s): the person or people who provide guidance to the Decision maker in the form of relevant and timely information.
• Implementer(s): the person or people who carry out the decision.

How will the decision be made?

Clearly there are some decisions that can be made with a quick conversation or email exchange, however for bigger, more systematic decisions (eg prioritization, budget / resource allocation etc) there needs to be some sort of process or governance in place.

Again, lots of ways to do this, and a very careful balance to be struck between structure and obstruction, but I’m a big fan of simple templates, clear criteria and a ‘heart beat’ approach that gives teams stepping stones to operate from, particularly if the decision being made is part of a larger process.

Also included here should be clear and timely communication to relevant parties (usually the Implementers) of the decision that has been made, as well as concise documentation that can be referenced later if required. Many times a decision is made and the discussion stays in the room, leaving people none the wiser. (A lot of this is just general meeting hygiene, which is a whole other topic!)

* Thanks to Chris Slager for introducing me to the DAI concept.

In conclusion

Lots more to discuss here. Organizational decision making is a complex topic with many different factors to consider, but there is clearly a desire for us to get better at it (regardless of organization or industry), and some views on where to focus. Considering these few simple (in concept, admittedly harder in practice!) questions could be a good place to start.