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<\/p>\nA key to effective decision-making is to avoid confusing discussions with decisions. Discussions are important for ensuring that the widest range of information is available to make a decision, but treating a discussion as a decision is likely to lead to confusion, frustration and ineffective actions.<\/p>\n
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Open discussions are important, but they\u2019re not the same as making a decision<\/p>\n
Open discussions are important because they allow everyone to understand the problem, the possible approaches and the concrete proposals for moving forward.<\/p>\n
A pattern I\u2019ve seen with teams that struggle to make effective decision is assuming that just because a difficult topic has been discussed there is a shared understanding of what has been decided and a commitment to act consistently with the decision.<\/p>\n
Often these assumptions are not stated explicitly, leading to statements like \u201cwe decided a lot of things in that meeting\u201d when in fact there weren\u2019t any decisions. This can be followed up later by frustration over \u201chow come we are discussing this again? I thought we decided on this in a previous meeting!\u201d<\/p>\n
It is important to be explicit about any decisions made during a meeting. One approach is to highlight them visually, which I\u2019ve used when using a simple kanban approach to meetings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some basic characteristics of effective decision making include:<\/p>\n Have you been in situations where you or someone else has confused discussions from decision making? Tell me about your experiences in the comments.<\/p>\n\n
![\"Benjamin](\"http:\/\/a3.twimg.com\/profile_images\/870580223\/twitterProfilePhoto_reasonably_small.jpg\" "\\"@benjaminm\\"")
Hi, I\u2019m Benjamin<\/a>. I hope that you enjoyed the post. I\u2019m a consultant and coach who helps IT teams and their managers consistently deliver the right software solutions. You can find out more about me<\/a> and my services<\/a>. Contact me<\/a> for a conversation about your situation.<\/p>\n