Leadership | Leading in a Transformation

Decision-making culture - catalyst or brake in transformation processes

From Sabine Walter,, Head of netzwerk managementberatung | coaching

In the context of transformation processes, many fundamental decisions have to be made. How quickly organisations manage to make these decisions in line with the desired goals also determines the success of the transformations. However, managers are often caught in the dilemma of wanting to involve as many members of their organisation as possible in the decision-making processes on the one hand, but having to deliver results quickly on the other. In this article, we give recommendations for action that help to resolve the dilemma and find a productive decision-making culture.

As a rule, there are various decision-making processes in organisations that are used depending on the situation, time frame or management style. Most common top down processes are:

• Announce: The boss decides and announces the result.
• Advertising: The supervisor tries to sell the importance and correctness of a decision taken.
• Questioning: The boss asks for different opinions and then decides.

Established Group processes are:

• Consent: All decide by consensus.
• Sparring: The boss offers his support in decision-making, but the employees decide for themselves.
• Self-organised work: Within a defined framework, the teams make their own decisions without the involvement and sometimes without the information of their superiors.

In order to create acceptance for change and lasting commitment to the process in transformation processes, it is important that majority group processes are used for fundamental decisions. Through them, many members of an organisation can be actively involved in the design process. But with this more people, the productivity of decision-making decreases.

Decision-making culture

Prerequisites for productive decision-making processes

In order to make decisions in a reasonable time and with good quality, several factors are imperative:

• Clarity of objectives and transparency of information:
  • What is to be achieved and when?
  • What information relevant to the decision do we have?
• Decision-making competence and authority (directive competence):
  • Who can contribute to the quality of the decision? Who is affected by the decision and must support it for successful implementation?
  • Who gets to decide in the end?
• Transparency about the consequences of decisions taken / delayed:
  • What can happen in the worst case if the decision is insufficient? Can we live with these consequences?
  • What are the consequences if we make the decision too late? Can we live with these consequences?
• Psychological safety:
  • How do we deal with wrong decisions in our organisation?
  • Is it ok to take defined risks?
  • Are mistakes allowed to be made without disadvantages for the individual or the team?
• Transparency of the framework conditions:
  • What do the people involved in the decision need to know about consequences and risks to enable a productive decision-making process?
• Building facilitation skills for decision-making processes:
  • Who is responsible for ensuring that all the factors necessary for a productive decision-making process are in place or considered in the process and moderates the process?

This last point has a double benefit: On the one hand, it is decisive for whether the change in decision-making succeeds productively and without "damage". On the other this competence contributes significantly to resolving the managers' dilemma. Good facilitation ensures reasonably quick decisions in principle involving several people, even if they are inexperienced in making decisions.

Building facilitation skills for decision-making processes - a decisive step out of the dilemma

The prudent and goal-oriented moderation of fundamental decision-making processes is a key competence when it comes to "picking up speed" in transformation processes and moving from conceptualisation and discussion to action.

However, this moderation competence is often not recognised as a key competence and is consequently built up too late or hardly at all. Until it is available in the organisations in sufficient quality, we recommend buying in this competence, especially for transformation processes. What distinguishes the field of competence?

Field of competence: Moderation of fundamental decision-making processes

Clarity and structure

In addition to establishing clarity of purpose, this part of facilitation competence is about prioritising the different aspects. What is part of this decision-making process, what is not? What is relevant and when? What needs to be looked at and dealt with in the process and when? What needs to be "parked"? By what criteria do all those involved in the decision-making process perceive that the decision taken is a good decision?

Field of competence: Moderation of fundamental decision-making processes

Systemic perception

How constructive a decision-making process is often has little to do with the matter at hand, but a lot to do with personality, relationship and (informal) power, visible and invisible fear structures. To grasp this, to recognise dynamics and to use them productively for decision-making is the core competence of a very good facilitator.

Field of competence: Moderation of fundamental decision-making processes

Working with what is

In no organisation does the "perfect world" prevail. We often experience that this imperfect state is used as a perfect excuse to delay decision-making processes. "If we had already done that ... If there was this or that with us ... If we didn't do it earlier ...." The task and competence of a facilitator in decision-making processes is to ensure that the To sharpen the view for resources, to lead process participants out of deficiency thinkingso that they work with what is there.

Field of competence: Moderation of fundamental decision-making processes

Create trust

Especially when the nature of decision-making changes, more people than before or other people may be involved in the decision-making process, it is crucial for the success of the process that the facilitator succeeds, To create trust in the procedure very quickly and to secure this again and again in the process. For Only if there is trust in the process will it move forward and the outcome of the process find acceptance among all those involved.

For decisions in transformation processes, this means that acceptance of decision-making contributes significantly to the success of the entire transformation process. Moreover, this acceptance also ensures the further commitment of those involved in the transformation.

Field of competence: Moderation of fundamental decision-making processes

Neutrality and benevolence

Every facilitator should have a neutral and benevolent attitude. It ensures that he or she is accepted by the group and can also act as a mediator in the process of conflicts that arise.

Field of competence: Moderation of fundamental decision-making processes

Responsibility for the process, not the result

In order for the facilitator to maintain his/her neutral stance, his/her responsibility must be limited to guiding the process and must not include the quality of the decision. Of course, the facilitator contributes significantly to the quality of the decision through the way he or she guides through the decision-making process (e.g. asking specific questions, verbalising one's perceptions, summarising and visualising), but the responsibility for this lies with the members of the organisation who participate in the decision-making process.

Field of competence: Moderation of fundamental decision-making processes

Establish commitment and get the participants involved

In order to implement decisions that have been made, it is elementary that the facilitator supports all participants in moving from discussion to action. The final task is to define the first concrete steps for implementation in a binding manner: What will be done, by when and by whom? How and when are these milestones tracked?

Conclusion

Moderation promotes the quality of the decisions to be made

In order for fundamental decision-making processes in transformations to become a catalyst, they must be professionally moderated. This facilitation not only saves you time and money, it also helps to increase the quality of decisions made and to make successes in transformation processes visible within a reasonable time. This in turn ensures acceptance of the change, underlines the self-efficacy of the organisation and ultimately ensures the lasting commitment of the employees.

Tools for everyday life

Thoughtfully submit proposals with the proposal canvas

You can use this CANVAS at different stages of the idea and decision-making process deploy.

In the process of brainstorming, the first step can be a Be the basis for you to outline the proposal so farthat it can be further developed in exchange with colleagues. To do this, we recommend that you think through and fill in fields 1-3. During the exchange The CANVAS both as a discussion guide and for documentation purposes.

Once the proposal has been fleshed out enough to be submitted for decision-making, you can use the CANVAS for the Presentation preparation use.