Decisions
Each decision we make, each action we take, is born out of an intention. — Sharon Salzberg.
Let’s be clear. Decisions are made by people – by individuals. Decisions are not made by groups or committees.
An organization I once consulted to was while wildly successful along many measures, but historically had a difficult time making, following up on, and seeing that decisions would stick. Having experienced this first hand, I noticed that there was significant inconsistency in how decisions were being made, who made decisions, and how decisions were communication. In many cases, it was unclear if decisions were being made or only communicated by specific designated people.
Further research into the matter revealed that part of the problem was that, in critical areas of the organization, the formal decision makers were designated as committees. This had several unfortunate effects. First the lack of an individual to make decisions allowed for each committee member to look to one another to make the decision. Second, without an individual as the decision maker no one was accountable for the decision. Finally, by having a committee as decision maker prevents people from discussing the status of the decision with any individual.
Decisions need accountable owners in order for them to be made. Decisions require a process (or multiple processes) to have them made well. While there are many decision models which may be followed, these fundamentals don’t change.
