[How Groups Make Decisions] Create a Decision Compass

In the last few posts, I've been focusing on group decision-making -  something I'm helping teams to do all the time.

When I write about this stuff, it always gets me thinking about how I’m using it in my own practice. And over the last few weeks, I’ve been reminded of the value of a good Impact Statement (a concept I mentioned in my last post, as one of 6 hygiene factors for good group decisions).

First though—full confession—I rarely call it an Impact Statement. Most of the time, I call it a Decision Compass. 

A good Decision Compass (or whatever you choose to call it!) gives a group a clear and shared sense of direction. It provides a moment to pause and figure out what they’re really trying to achieve and why it matters. This can be a great leveller—it brings everyone into the purpose of the conversation or process, instead of letting those with strong views burst out of the gates so fast that the rest of the group have no idea what’s hit them!

But what I’ve really noticed is how much it helps a group take collective ownership of what they need to achieve together. It even gives the quieter folks in the team an important role to play—if nothing else, by holding the group accountable to the Decision Compass.

So, what’s in a Decision Compass? Quite simply, two questions:

1. Why do we even need to make this decision?
2. What makes for a great decision, regardless of the outcome?

If you break those down:

The first question—the “why” question—looks at the problem or opportunity you’re trying to address, the payoff of addressing it, and the stakeholders it affects.

The second question—the “what makes for a great decision” question—focuses on the key qualities the decision needs, no matter what the final outcome is. For example:

• The decision should be easy to communicate to our teams.
• It should include a process for securing executive buy-in.
• The timeline should account for the new budget process.
• We need to be able to anchor our approach against the 3 strategic priorities.

The key isn’t just to brainstorm these things—it’s to narrow them down to the top 4 or 5 criteria. Which makes this exercise is a fantastic warm-up for decision-making itself!

What’s really struck me lately is how much time groups want to spend on these conversations—more than I typically allow for. I think that's because what's really happening is the group is dissecting why some of their decisions have missed the mark in the past. In that way, a Decision Compass lays the foundations for a 'pre-mortem' - something I’ve written about before - which is where a group tests a decision against the things that might go wrong before they even begin, which is a game-changer. 

So go on… give it a go the next time you’ve got a group working together on a decision, and let me know what you think.

Until next time!
Simon