Length: 1 hour as a team

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Begin by thinking of a significant decision you or your team have made recently. How did you make it?

Teams don't always talk about how they make decisions, but getting clear about the process means that that people have a stable base to work from - especially when difficult decisions need to be made.

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A lack of clarity about decision making is a common cause of dysfunction, especially in teams with a 'flat' hierarchy, like a partnership. Often, those teams don't have a solid rubric for making decisions. 

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Have a look at a decision-making process below. It has been proven to improve the quality of decisions.

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It would be too time-consuming to use on day-to-day decisions, but will be useful for those big decisions that require full consideration. 

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Try moving through the following steps:

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1. Define the problem carefully

2. Specify the criteria that the decision has to satisfy

3. Create possible options

4. Re-visit your criteria

5. Assess your options against the criteria

6. Select the way forward as a group

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Did you follow this process? Would it have improved your decision if you had?

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What would you do differently, in terms of your process for making decisions, in the future?