High Performance Teams manage decisions

At Qnit we deal with digitalization projects every day. We found, there are two crucial success factors to high quality in digital product and service development: High Perfomance Teams and automation.

Taking a look at one basic condition for High Perfomance Teams at a time: great decision making.

At Qnit we choose to jobinterview candidates with a team of 3. The other day we talked to a candidate Joe Newman. After the interview we got into a discussion about his fit. After hearing all thoughts, two of us gave thumbs up where one of us, Jane was doubtful (thumbs down). She said, let's sleep over it and talk again tomorrow. The next day we basically had the same situation. Jane still had major concerns about Joe Newman's fit and we didn't. So we agreed with Jane to discuss her concerns once more and see if our opinion might change. Said and done our opinion hadn't changed and we told Jane the two yae-sayers still want Joe. 2 to 1. Feeling Deja vu but still wanting to be considerate to Jane we agreed to invite the candidate for a 2nd time. (Thankfully) Joe Newmann stopped this decision making drama by letting us know he chose a different job. So what happened? A very simple decision could have been made fairly quickly but was dragged out far too long.

The right decision

We tend to see decisions as one point in time where we had to say yes or no. In Hindsight we judge such decisions as right or wrong. Such judgment is made based on current knowledge and seldomly considers circumstances at the time of decision making. And rarely considers different, future circumstances (how to know?). So we might say a decision was wrong today and might learn it was right tomorrow. So before taking this further, let's just say we likely don't know a decision was right or wrong. Let's just say blackandwhite qualification of a decision is not helpful because we likely just don't know. What if we looked at decisions as being rather good or rather bad? We would give room to uncertainty and start thinking about the underlying problem that requires decision making instead of pressing our focus to the surfacing 0 or 1 to choose from. After all context is crucial. We would make decisions knowing there is no right one.

The power of corrective action

When we accept that our decisions are generally rather bad than good and almost never wrong or right we can stop wasting time on justifying decisions. We can start making conscious decisions and most importantly start managing decisions. After all we can turn a bad decision into a good one. Isn't that what we basically do when we talk of project management? Managing decisions and their implementation?! Gradually correcting direction (and decisions). And maybe more importantly deciding consciously and transparently and learn.

Speed vs. the right decision

What's the one factor slowing down organizations the most? Is it making wrong decisions or not making decisions at all? Sitting on decisions because we are afraid to make the wrong decision is actually a bigger problem than not making a decision at all - no matter if it's good or bad. It is even worse. Because we are afraid of making the wrong decision we look to get all kinds of information to give us the feeling of making the right decision. We start discussions, we develop further options, etc. So we are not just sitting on a decision but rather prolonging the decision making process which over time is cloaking up our process of delivering value entirely and generates waste. Guess what happens to the speed of your decision if i throw in another option for you?

Just do it

So what's the conclusion? Rather than trying to make the right decision or the most informed situation relax by knowing it will probably not be the right one. If you are lucky it will be one of the better decisions you make. Instead focus on managing the decision rather than making it! And now guess what agile is all about? It is about empirical decision making: Plan, do, check, act. Make assumptions (instead of decisions), test them and gradually build knowledge. This is much more effective (faster) than trying to make the right decision.

High Perfomance Teams don't make decisions. They manage decisions!