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Making
Team Decisions Wisely
by
Larry Richman
During the
course of a project, many decisions get made that ultimately
affect the project for better or worse. Some are small decisions that
have relatively little impact, while others may have a major
impact on the progress or outcome.
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Ideal Decision-making Team
Follow
this adage to ensure your decision-making team has the
diversity necessary to add value to the process:
Someone
old: the person brings wisdom from having been
around a long time
Someone
new: this person will bring new ideas to the table
Someone
borrowed: this person will provide the “outsider’s
perspective” as a user or requestor group
representative
Someone
blue: this person is a “devil’s
advocate” and will ask the tough questions |
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Project managers
make some decisions with little or no input from the team. Other
more important decisions sometimes require project managers to get
more information or support from their team. In these cases,
they may call for the entire team to make a group decision.
Go It Alone
or Ask for Help?
When should you
bring others into the decision-making process? Generally, it is
good — even necessary — to involve other members of the team in making decisions
when you need their commitment, and when you don’t have the
expertise necessary to make the decision by yourself. Sometimes,
though, involving others is either unnecessary or can
create problems. In most
situations, it’s not a good idea to involve others in making a
decision when:
- The decision
relates to a trivial issue.
- The decision
involves a personnel issue.
- You are
unwilling or unable to negotiate or compromise.
- The need for
speed is greater than the need for commitment — you need to
make a decision quickly and have the expertise necessary to do
so.
The Pros and
Cons of Team Decisionmaking
Involving other
people in making decisions has both advantages and disadvantages.
Among the advantages, team decisions tend to:
- Provide a
broader perspective
- Benefit from more experience and
ideas
- Secure the
commitment of others in the decision
Of course, team
decisionmaking has a downside. Among the disadvantages,
project managers must:
- Understand
that the process may get bogged down by the size of the team
- Be able to
maintain control of the team
- Know that
they won’t be able to please everyone —
they may alienate
some team members and must be prepared to handle such a
situation, if it arises
- Be able to
separate the wheat from the chaff — not everyone will have
helpful insight or expertise
Ensuring a
Productive Process and a Successful Outcome
When you decide
to make a decision as a team, consider these rules of thumb:
- The leader
sets the agenda.
- All team
members take an active role.
- Each person
listens with respect.
- Each person
expresses his or her point of view.
- The team
focuses on what is best for the organization.
- The team makes the final decision.
- The team must
agree on appropriate assignments, follow-up and evaluation.
Knowing when to
involve others in making decisions, what to expect from the team effort, and how to conduct a team decision-making activity will
lead to better decisions that will benefit you, your team and
your organization.
Larry
Richman, Ph.D., PMP, has more than 20 years of experience as a
project manager. He has developed computer-assisted project
management systems and has taught project management for more than
10 years. He is the author of the new book, Project Management
Step-by-Step. He can be reached at larry.richman@usa.com
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