How to Make a Good Decision: It Takes More Than Agreement

Have you ever wondered how a group can make a unanimous decision regarding who to hire, and yet the hire ends up being an epic failure? Or how a leader can make a decision that goes against the will of the group, and yet it ends up being a home run decision? Managing the quality of a decision and the quality of team cohesion is no easy task for any leader. This framework will help you understand the balancing act between agreement and accuracy.

1. High Agreement/Low Accuracy.

On more than one occasion, I have either watched or been an active part of a group decision where there was strong agreement among the members, but it turned out to be a poor decision. One example was regarding who to hire. Everyone agreed on the candidate, but once hired, that candidate was not successful and was eventually let go. Sometimes we can confuse high agreement with an accurate decision. The power of groupthink as well as the fear of disagreement can result in a perceived high agreement decision that has poor outcomes. (Although high agreement can sometimes mean an accurate decision, but not in every case.)

If this is your situation: Make sure you are not experiencing groupthink by inviting honesty and safety for questions and disagreement. This can be accomplished through using anonymous feedback tools as well as external facilitators to help you make sure you are getting accurate information.

2. Low Agreement/Low Accuracy.

What happens when you mix a group that is not unified on a decision with a decision that goes bad? Blame and conflict! Some will blame the leader for making the decision without having enough group support, while the leader(s) will blame the group for being obstructionists and difficult. We experienced this many years ago when assisting a client that had almost no agreement among themselves. When a decision was finally made that was less than perfect, even more conflict arose among some members. While having low group support may be a reason for a failed decision, we also know that decisions can fail even with strong support if you do not have accuracy.

If this is your situation: Consider getting help to assess why you are experiencing such low agreement and poor decisions. Seek to discover if it is an issue of the team’s dynamics, the leader’s style, or the culture within the team or organization.

3. High Accuracy/Low Agreement.

I recently read the true story of a world-renowned science researcher whose son became severely ill. For years, many similar patients were told it was all in their head and there was no biological cause for how they were feeling. Even though there was low agreement among the medical community, this well-respected researcher set out to find the cause. And over time, he and a smaller group of other science professionals did just that. There are times when a leader believes he or she knows what needs to be done – who to hire, what product or program to launch, or what event to host – and takes the risk of pushing through the group. While very risky, some of the most profound decisions in history came about this way.

If this is your situation: Assess why you are high in your decision accuracy but the team is not able to agree. Are they in conflict with each other, with you, or with the mission?

4. High Accuracy/High Agreement.

Whether you are buying stock, hiring an employee, or starting a new business, a good decision requires being accurate in your knowledge of what your options are and why one choice is better than the others. Having honest input from others also increases the likelihood of making a good choice, and it adds to the culture and chemistry of the team. While it is not always possible to attain, a decision that involves high accuracy along with high agreement among the team is worthy of pursuit. It will provide the most input, the greatest sense of shared ownership, an increased likelihood of a good choice, and a great sense of accomplishment.

If this is your situation: Consider both celebrating as well as protecting. It is not easy to attain consistently high accuracy in decisions with high agreement among your team, so celebrate the “wins.” Additionally, learn more about what is contributing to this healthy synergy and protect it from disruption.

Contact us to learn how our expert consultants can equip you to make better decisions in leadership.

Jay Desko is the CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.