How can you lead a team with poor decision-making skills?

Identifying the root cause for the weak decision-making within your Team is essential for overcoming it. This is actually possible through running the following checks: 1. The clarity of communication and understanding among the Team Members; 2. Their alignment around the set Team objectives, while ensuring the same alignment on their cascaded individual objectives; 3. Respecting the diversity of the Team and capitalizing on it for more effective decision-making; 4. The Team awareness and adoption of related supporting tools that would show the cons of poor decision-making. The above checks, along with the Team Leader setting the right related example, will definitely realize more effective decision-making.

Firstly, it's crucial to understand the "Why" before tackling the "What" and "How." Identify the "Why" - Through observation and team dialogue, pinpoint reasons for poor decision-making. Is it a lack of knowledge, ineffective deliberation, or a misunderstanding? Once identified, focus on the "What" - Develop a plan to address issues with training, skill-building, frameworks and tools. Lastly , monitor progress by keeping track of improvements and outcomes. Offer mentorship and guidance as needed to ensure continual growth. Leading by example is paramount. Demonstrate effective decision-making and provide support through mentoring when necessary to empower your team.

Prioritize Developing Skills Rather Than Just Correcting Decisions: Avoid making the mistake of continuously micromanaging or overturning poor decisions. Rather, make an investment in enhancing your team's capacity for making decisions. Equip them with frameworks, data analysis abilities, and critical thinking strategies through seminars, training, and coaching. To guarantee that all points of view are taken into account, promote open dialogue and constructive disagreement.

There actually is no such thing as a root cause (look up Root Cause Fallacy). There is just THE CAUSE, and that is normally systemic. You are WAY better off first asking, "What do we want?" Based on that then ask, "How does this work?" Finally, go with, "What all went wrong?"

Poor team decision making may most likely stem from the inability to harness conflict. This conflict may have its roots in different areas, like different perceptions, different styles and different interests. The right diagnosis of there the conflict comes from is important for addressing it.

Two lessons I have learned from my mentors. 1) Bring me solutions and not just problems. Teach your team to identify the problems but include suggestions on what they believe should be done to solve them. 2) Prepare for all decision meetings and send materials 24 hours in advance. Leaders will spend the time to prepare for the meeting if they know what is coming. If materials or agenda is not provided 24 hours in advance, cancel the meeting.

To effectively manage a team that struggles with decision-making, I propose a strategy that involves the dynamic assignment of the project manager role across different projects. This approach would ensure that each team member gets an opportunity to step into a leadership position, thereby serving as the primary decision-maker for the duration of a project. Under my guidance and mentorship, this system is designed not only to distribute responsibility but also to cultivate a sense of ownership and accountability among team members.

Typically, poor decisions are a combination of too little information and individual bias. Instead of curating data, seeking out all parameters, getting a mix of perspectives, asking the "5 Whys," and creating a logoc tree to forecast outcomes. Ot isn't a matter of making a decision and THEN support your theories with a reliance only on the data that supports your bias. Finally, whenever possible, wlak the decision process through the team to explore, expose , reveal and support the learning process. Often poor decisions are merely lack of experience, lack of open mindedness, or lack of accepting perspectives different from your own.

Constructive feedback is absolutely important both on the individual and on the team levels. Ther leader must make sure that there be a feedback engine at both levels. At the level of the individual the leader can offer feedback. However at the team level members of the team may be called upon to observe and provide feedback.

Providing feedback is essential. Perhaps feedback has been perceived by those you are working with as criticism only, and not as opportunities for improvement, growth and to help them develop into the best they can be. You will have to ask open-ended questions in order to know that information and know how to best communicate with them to allow them to open their mind and heart to understand you are there to lead, coach and guide them.

Open collaboration is key to reignite engagment with your team. At this stage its about facilitating conversations that move past the points of frustration and into clear decision making. Listening to your team, being open to questions and ideas is key to the team feeling valued and heard. At this stage I always recommend that facilitation should be carried out by independent leadership consultants as you as a leader are too close to the problem - plus your team need to feel a degree of difference from the problems they are already experiencing so getting an outsider to facilitate is key to moving forward

Collaboration facilitates the exchange of ideas and thoughts among team members who then weigh in on them with collective expertise. Collaboration in this sense acts as a force multiplier for innovative ideas and as checks and balances for ideas that can't be executed or ones that need more thought put into them. Having a diverse workforce brings together a wide array of individuals with distinct experiences, skills, perspectives, and insights, which greatly benefits problem-solving efforts. Diversity boosts a culture of innovation, creativity, and strategic thinking.

Two things I highly recommend: 1) Delegating decision-making: Empower team members to make decisions within their areas of expertise and responsibility. 2) Promoting Accountability: Encourage ownership of decisions and outcomes, and provide constructive feedback to help them learn and improve

The ultimate quality of effective team decision making is its capacity to incorporate different points of view. Collaboration and diversity therefore is a must have. In this respect the wisdom of all the members of the team will be incorporated in the decision.

Collaboration is as much about identifying and celebrating diversity of thought as much as it is determining an agreed upon path forward. Knowing how the decision makers and influencers process data and make decisions, will allow you to know how to best lead the discussion towards a better decision making process, that encompasses the previous discussions of varying solutions, but moves forward with a unified plan of action that everyone has bought into and is willing and able to execute.

One of the key issues in team decision making has to do with the different understanding of the problem. Making sure that every single team member has the same understanding of the problem is key to its solution. Otherwise, the team will run the risk of solving correctly the wrong problem. Tools and frameworks are important in this respect for they help towards achieving a common understanding of the issue at hand.

Tools and framework will certainly help and these tools are available online and how to use. So one can overcome their team decision making lacking skills. In case you are analysing to focus and identifying business strategy you can use BCG matix in context of Conglomerate to decide where to focus and how and when to switch as part of strategic planning. Poter 5's can help in identify the opportunity and barriers for a given business i.e industry competitive forces.

One of the thing I learned from two separate mentors was put the ask up front. Let them know the decisions they are supposed to make first. Then put any content you think might help them make the decision. In some ways, treat it like a 'reading comprehension' test from school. Read the questions before reading the content. This lets you know what to pay attention when reading the content.

Do an RCA to identify the ASK, is the poor decision making problem due to Attitude - Skill - Knowledge gap in the team members. If it’s an Attitude issue try coaching them out of it. If it’s a Skill issue teach them all the Decision Making Tools and if it’s due to Knowledge gap, set up a buddy system for the team member to work with the best problem solver in the team. Equally important- Step out of the current situation and as an honest team leader self assess and ask yourself, if you are the problem for the teams poor decision making problem. Then just follow the RCA and ASK method for your own self development. Good luck 👍

Use data visualization tools to present information clearly and facilitate informed choices. Decision-making tools such as SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), cost-benefit analysis, or decision trees will help your team in structuring the decision-making process and evaluate options objectively.

I personally believe in acknowledging and celebrating successful decisions made by the team, highlighting the positive outcomes. One should also sensitize the team to view failures or suboptimal decisions as learning opportunities. Sometimes, it may also be worthwhile to bring in an external consultant or advisor, who can provide fresh perspectives and insights that can help improve decision-making within the team. Lastly, changing deep-rooted ways of functioning and improving decision-making skills takes time. Be patient with your team members and provide support as they work towards enhancing their abilities.

YOU CANNOT. If you are bad, slow or poor at decision making, the only way to become a good leader is by working on yourself first. There is no shortcut for the same. You can lead others once you lead yourself in the right direction.

When leading a team with poor decision-making skills, it is important to focus on providing clear guidance and support. Start by setting clear goals and expectations for the team, and communicate these effectively. Offer training and resources to help team members improve their decision-making abilities. Encourage open communication and collaboration within the team to foster better decision-making processes. Provide constructive feedback and guidance when mistakes are made, and help team members learn from their errors. By creating a supportive environment and helping team members develop their skills, you can gradually improve the overall decision-making abilities of the team.

Begin by assessing the team's decision-making patterns to identify weaknesses. Implement targeted training in decision-making, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Foster a safe, collaborative environment that encourages risk-taking and learning from mistakes. Simplify decision-making processes and delegate responsibilities to build confidence and skills gradually. Lead by example, sharing your decision-making processes and outcomes. Regularly monitor decisions, providing constructive feedback and celebrating successes. Individual mentoring or coaching can also address specific areas for improvement. This approach will gradually enhance the team's decision-making abilities, fostering a more confident and capable team.

This article is pretty structured and I liked it. I would ask few questions first : 1. Is this team supposed to take decisions ? If so what are the boundaries ? 2. Who is expected to take decisions - Every member, or designated team leaders only ? 3. Are they aware of the answers to above queries ? 4. Is it the culture in the organization (or in this subset of organization) that hinders them ? Does everyone looks upto some charismatic (and authoritative) leader to take decisions ? Can people openly discuss diverse opinions and take decisions or is it an 'Yes' culture and decisions should be 'what the leader may like' ? Are there too many restrictions to take decisions ? Are failures or mistakes tolerated ?

Il faut définir au préalable un objectif commun atteindre, partager la vision avec équipe. Prendre en compte les idées et propositions de tous les membres. Évaluer ensemble vos résultats pour une prise de décision efficace.