The Four-Step Decision Making Process

The daily process of making decisions—particularly how you make them—expresses organizational values. It is one of the most powerful ways to create teamwork and an engaging, open and therefore productive workplace. With a little practice you can use this decision process to lead effective group problem-solving discussions and build consensus. The manager leads the group through the decision process. Group members fill in the substance by answering each question.

Bring together the people affected by the issue. Ask each person in turn for their input. Write exactly what they say on a flip chart. Try not to summarize or paraphrase. Discourage responses to people's input (cross talking). Encourage members of the group to speak from their personal experience: how they see things, how they experience the situation or problem and what is important to them personally. At the top of the first page, write the name of the problem or issue. Start a new flip chart page for each step and label them. After step three, prioritize the possibilities listed in step 2. At step 4, team members volunteer to take top priority items and report back to the group on their progress at the next meeting. If no one volunteers, ask the group to discuss what to do next. The 4 questions or steps are:

For more on this see Developing Your Company Culture.

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