Leaders, Teams, and Decisions

Reading Give me spark today at 37signals I was reminded of some of the lessons I learned reading Patrick Lencioni’s business books. If you haven’t read any, his most famous is probably The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

When you start discussions with a group around an issue for which a decision must be made, there’s a lot that can go wrong. Tempers flare, politics arise, quiet people get really quiet. It’s easy for the real issue to get lost. It’s easy for the wrong decision to be made in order to appease the group.

Leaders

The key for leaders is to remember that you’re not trying to build consensus, you’re trying to make a decision. Sometimes everyone will see the path forward, or it will be easy to eliminate alternatives, or it will be a really simple decision, and no one will raise any objections. Fine.

But many times there are at least one or two people who don’t agree with the decision. That’s okay. The most important thing is to make sure that everyone is heard, and most importantly, that everyone feels like they’ve been heard and respected. Especially the quiet ones. Don’t let anyone brood. For the talkers in your group, don’t let anyone dominate.

The leader’s job is to explain the criteria for the decision, facilitate the discussion, keep it fair, keep the discussion on point, keep it moving, and help people provide their best answer, even if it goes against yours, and then make a decision and move forward. Oh, and make it snappy. Don’t waste people’s time with a long back story. Explain what’s going on, get to the point, and ask for questions if you think people don’t understand the decision being made.

Explain the Criteria

There’s a reason why you must explain the criteria for the decision. If there are factors affecting your decision that are outside the group’s control, such as organizational factors, long-term strategies, and interactions with other groups, they need to know about it. Part of respecting other people includes being honest and transparent. This also helps people formulate answers while keeping the big picture in mind.

And here’s the kicker. If having a discussion won’t affect the outcome, don’t have a meeting hoping it will satisfy the group’s desire to participate. You’re insulting your team and no one ever falls for that crap. Just send an email explaining your decision.

Team Members

For team members, the first key is to be present and to participate. Put away your computer and your phone unless you’re researching supporting evidence for your opinion. Be at the meeting. This is one way to demonstrate respect.

You absolutely must voice your opinion when it’s called for. Be fair, but argue your point. There’s nothing wrong with argument. There’s nothing wrong with passion for your viewpoint. On the flip side, if you disagree with the direction the group is taking and you choose not to speak out, you have no one to blame but yourself. Emotionally mature people don’t hide behind a fear of reprisal, of not being heard, or of not being taken seriously.

If you’re a team member and the decision doesn’t feel like a big decision to you, or if any position is acceptable to you, you should still voice that. And then you should still participate by listening actively to your teammates.

Leaders, Take Note of Your Quiet People

Leaders, if a great many of your people have a tendency not to speak up, that means there’s a larger problem of people feeling like their opinion doesn’t matter or that speaking up will lead to reprisal from leadership or others within the group. That’s a leadership problem and you need to deal with it pretty darn quick.

Team Members Should Support the Team

The second key for team members is to remember that part of being a team means you accept the final decision and support the team with all your might. Teams must play as a team. If you’ve done your part by listening intently and voicing your opinion, then respect the role of the leader, which is to make the decision. You must respect the fact that the leader is taking every element into consideration, which includes the opinions and supporting evidence of the team, and then making the best decision based on the necessary criteria. Your opinion is valid and your evidence may be solid, but it may also not be enough to meet the criteria for the decision. The final decision may not be what you had hoped for, but support your team, no matter what. That’s what teams do.

That being said, if you find that you’re consistently going against the team and having a hard time supporting the decision, it may be time to look for another team. All other things being equal, if you think the team is healthy and the organizational context in which it operates is sound, you should take note of your opposition and discuss it with your leader. Talk about the problems you’re having getting behind the team. Be honest with yourself. Perhaps there’s a misunderstanding. Perhaps you’re not a good fit for the team. That’s okay, too. Sometimes the best way to help the team succeed is to leave the team.

Get Out If You Have To

And certainly, if you believe the team and/or the organization is dysfunctional, you’ve expressed this to your leader, and no one is listening or willing to take action, leave. It’s not the worst thing in the world to look for another job. And truly, there are sociopaths and borderline sociopaths among us. Be good to yourself and get away while you still can.