{"id":41158,"date":"2020-02-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/team-decision-making\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T06:30:34","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:30:34","slug":"group-decision-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/group-decision-making\/","title":{"rendered":"2 steps to effective group decision-making\u2014and 3 hurdles to avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may have heard that making decisions as a team can help your organization reach the best results, since, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">according to lots of research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> out there, groups of diverse individuals tend to make better decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It sounds like a nice idea, but how do you actually implement it? Anyone who has ever been in a pointless meeting will raise an eyebrow at the idea that a group can actually come to a clear decision.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understandable. But, with the right structure to support the team, group decision-making is not only possible, but hugely impactful too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Read on for a 3-step team decision making process\u2014and the 3 hurdles to team decision-making that you might need to overcome first:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#what\">What is group decision-making?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#three\">3 hurdles to making a group decision\u2014and how to leap over them<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#frame\">A framework for group decision-making<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 20px;\"><strong><a id=\"what\"><\/a><br \/>\nWhat is group<\/strong><strong> decision-making?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before we dive into the how, let\u2019s look at what we mean when we talk about team decision-making.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Team decision-making is basically the process by which a group of people work together to come up with a solution to a problem. It doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that the entire group comes to a consensus, but it does mean that multiple ideas and suggestions are considered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can execute team decision-making in different ways\u2014digitally or informally, depending on the decision to be made. In fact, you\u2019re probably already doing so all the time without really thinking about it. When you pose a question to your team in your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/glip.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">messaging <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">app<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about what they think of a new design template, you\u2019re using team decision-making.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For big business decisions, though, it\u2019s best to be able to see each other (on a <a class=\"waffle-rich-text-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/video-call.html\">video call<\/a>, if everyone\u2019s in different locations). This lets everyone see each other\u2019s expressions and hear the tone in each other\u2019s voices, which is helpful and more nuanced than just sending messages to the group.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><strong>Pro-tip: <\/strong><\/div>\n<p>When you\u2019re forming a group to make a business decision together, it\u2019s important to have enough different voices to hear different perspectives, but not so many that you\u2019ll never reach an actual decision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turns out, that sweet spot is five or six people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bain.com\/insights\/effective-decision-making-and-the-rule-of-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the authors of<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Decide &amp; Deliver: 5 Steps to Breakthrough Performance in Your Organization, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">once you have seven people involved in a decision-making conversation, each additional person reduces decision effectiveness by 10%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ready to dive into a team decision-making model? Let\u2019s start by addressing some of the hurdles you may have to overcome in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 20px;\"><strong><a id=\"three\"><\/a><br \/>\n3 hurdles to making a group decision\u2014and how to leap over them<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. Determining the answer before the meeting<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is particularly challenging if you\u2019re new to making decisions with a team. If you\u2019re used to being a primary (or the only) decision maker, it can be challenging to get used to making group decisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if you\u2019re trying to get input from others, you can sometimes stand in the way of the right decision by subconsciously framing the problem in terms of your proposed solution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, if you\u2019re working with your team to find solutions to a marketing issue, you might form a meeting to discuss whether you should discontinue your Facebook advertising program to focus on Instagram. This might <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seem<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> like an open-ended question, but it ultimately leaves your team discussing two options: keep running Facebook ads, or stop running Facebook ads.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you instead form a meeting to discuss the root problem\u2014poorly performing ads\u2014you open everyone up to brand new ideas you may never have thought of (maybe you just need to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/facebook-audience-optimization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">optimize your Facebook audience<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> better), which is the whole point of team decision-making in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get to the root problem before posing the question to your decision-making group, and be open to the solutions that they might propose.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Excluding necessary voices<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forming the right decision-making team is crucial to making sure that you hear from key stakeholders. You don\u2019t need to include everyone in the company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we mentioned above, five or six people is the sweet spot for team decision-making, but it\u2019s also crucial that your team is made of diverse individuals. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2016\/11\/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harvard Business Review<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, teams that are more diverse are more likely to make objective, fact-based decisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get the right stakeholders in the room (or on the video call) by following <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2006\/01\/who-has-the-d-how-clear-decision-roles-enhance-organizational-performance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the RAPID model<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This stands for Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, and Decide:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who is in the room to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recommend<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> solutions to the issue at hand?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who needs to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">agree<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in order to move forward with the decision (a department head or team member from legal)?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who will actually <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">do<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the work to execute this decision?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Someone should be present to offer <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">input<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the plausibility of certain ideas (someone from the product team, for instance).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, someone is designated to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">decide<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on a course of action.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, one person can fill multiple roles, especially if you\u2019re <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/small-business-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">managing a small business<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but this is a framework to start forming a decision-making team and doing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/effective-teamwork\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">effective teamwork<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having the right people together is the first step, but making sure that everyone has a voice and contributes ideas to the group is key. Create a structure that gives everyone a chance to speak up\u2014for instance, by having everyone share an idea before any are discussed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One way to limit your discussion without getting overwhelmed by too many cooks in the kitchen is to use a team messaging app to create a group for the decision-makers you want and having the discussion there:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42966 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/team-messaging-app-e1606751088883.png\" alt=\"group decision making via team messaging\" width=\"850\" height=\"494\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask leaders in the room to model active listening and comment on the ideas brought by junior team members to be sure they are considered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><strong>Pro-tip: <\/strong><\/div>\n<p>Be intentional\u2014include a variety of voices in your discussion. Otherwise, what\u2019s the point of deciding as a team?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3 style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. Discussing every single decision<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it\u2019s true that working in teams is a great way to make effective decisions, don\u2019t fall into the trap of thinking you need to bring every little thing to a counsel for debate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the team decision-making model is great for effectively making big decisions, if you bring every little change to a group, you\u2019re never going to be able to get past the decision-making to actually take action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are some decisions that can be made without the input of the entire team. For a smaller, easily reversible choice, like testing a new email subscription call-to-action, you can reasonably make a decision without the input of a group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the thinking that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos explained in a shareholder letter in 1997. He referred to irreversible decisions as \u201cType 1\u201d and reversible decisions as \u201cType 2\u201d decisions. \u201cType 2 decisions,\u201d he explained, \u201ccan and should be made quickly by high judgement individuals or small groups.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2873 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image3-33.png\" alt=\"Type 2 decisions\" width=\"626\" height=\"393\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try using this distinction in your organization, or just use your own measurement of what constitutes a big decision that requires team input vs a smaller decision you could make on your own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key? Don\u2019t fear failure if you make a bad decision. Just be prepared to learn from it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 20px;\"><strong><a id=\"frame\"><\/a><br \/>\nA framework for group decision-making<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start on the same page<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to run an efficient meeting that results in an actual decision, you need to be sure that everyone has an understanding of what they\u2019re working on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure that everyone is on the same page before the decision-making meeting by providing:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clarity about the problem you are attempting to address<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Background information about the problem\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An outline of how the decision-making meeting will run<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This information might seem obvious to you, but if you don\u2019t provide the right background information, you could get sucked into providing this information during the meeting and wasting valuable decision-making time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Providing background and letting employees know that they should bring ideas for solutions is also a good way to avoid groupthink\u2014by sharing information in advance, your team will have the time and space to develop ideas on their own, meaning you\u2019ll get more innovative solutions brought to the table when the time comes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, be sure to leave the question open-ended as you\u2019re framing the problem\u2014instead of asking \u201cshould we change the internal organization of the support team?,\u201d present the communication difficulties within the support team and see what ideas come to the table.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your company\u2019s communication tools are key to facilitating group decisions. We\u2019re all used to having everyone in the same room for big decisions, but with remote work and distributed teams becoming more popular, it\u2019s a good idea to look into communication technology that can make everyone\u2019s voice heard\u2014even if they can\u2019t all be present.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, you can use an app like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/ca\/en\/teams\/overview.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to let everyone communicate and deliberate decisions on video calls and instant messaging. Here&#8217;s a quick look at how the app works:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"rc_custom_video\"><a class=\"rc_custom_video__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtu.be\/9xaL89hYeFs\">\n\t\t            <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi_webp\/9xaL89hYeFs\/maxresdefault.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rc_custom_video__media\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/9xaL89hYeFs\/maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t            <\/picture>\n\t\t        <\/a><br \/>\n\t\t        <button class=\"rc_custom_video__button\" aria-label=\"Play video\"><svg width=\"68\" height=\"48\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\"><path class=\"rc_custom_video__button-shape\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\"><\/path><path class=\"rc_custom_video__button-icon\" d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\"><\/path><\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t        <\/button>\n\t\t    <\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can even easily upload any relevant documents using Google Drive, Dropbox, or Evernote, do screen sharing, and edit files together.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Communicate the final decision and implementation clearly<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we mentioned earlier in the RAPID model, it\u2019s important to be clear from the beginning who the final decision maker is\u2014otherwise, you may have an endless meeting on your hands. Trying to get to the point of consensus will only slow you down, (especially if this isn\u2019t a massive, irreversible decision).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The decision maker should be a leader who is willing to listen to and consider the different opinions of the group, but ultimately make an evidence-based choice for how to move forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having a decision made isn\u2019t the end of your meeting, though. You need to ensure that everyone leaves understanding what the final decision is, who is working on implementing it, and how the decision was made.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This will help everyone, regardless of their thoughts on the final decision, feel heard and supportive of the outcome. Everyone will also be clear on next steps so that a real result actually comes out of this decision.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After you\u2019ve come to a decision, immediately create follow-up tasks for each member of the team. By creating tasks right away, everyone knows what the process will look like and who will be taking which actions. This also means that you\u2019ll be able to see if the work is evenly distributed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For big, permanent company decisions\u2014like a major rebranding\u2014you\u2019ll also need to communicate the final decision and reasons behind it to the rest of the organization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sharing some of the decision making process can help get buy-in across the company. If possible, share what issue you are solving, how this choice was made, and what alternatives were considered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can still make it clear that the decision is final, but by offering a peek behind the scenes, you\u2019ll help the whole team understand what\u2019s going on, feel included, and be supportive of the final choice.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 20px;\"><strong>Can group decision-making work for you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team decision-making process requires you to be more intentional than just letting employees know about a decision that was made.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s more work, but it\u2019s also been proven to result in better decisions, and ultimately, the quality of these decisions can directly impact your business results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By avoiding the pitfalls of both working in silos and involving too many people, you can help your team come to decisions efficiently and effectively as they work together to find new solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You may have heard that making decisions as a team can help your organization reach the best results, since, according to lots of research out there, groups of diverse individuals tend to make better decisions. It sounds like a nice idea, but how do you actually implement it? Anyone who has ever been in a &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":46090,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901],"tags":[3642,5413,8654,1491],"class_list":["post-41158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-leadership","tag-collaboration","tag-decision-making","tag-team-collaboration","tag-teamwork"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2 steps to effective group decision-making\u2014and 3 hurdles to avoid<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to do group decision-making right with a simple and quick framework\u2014and know what pitfalls to avoid in order to make the right choices together.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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