Team Decision-Making Modes

What it is

A model for identifying different modes—or levels—of active participation and decision rights of team members during an important conversation.

When to use

Whenever decision rights are unclear and/or when a team conversation is wandering into “fake participation” territory (e.g., when leaders appear to be seeking input but have already made up their minds).

When not to use

When leaders are opposed to transparency of decision rights (it happens more than you think!) or when decision rights are already crystal clear.

Tradecraft tips

It’s critical to note that there is no one “right” position on this staircase for all situations. With some issues, very tight decision rights around one or two leaders may be the way to go, whereas on other issues a more democratic approach may be more appropriate and productive. It’s common for team conversations to wander up and down this staircase depending on the issue. The important thing is to be mindful and explicit about which level the team is operating at a given point in time. Doing this well is an advanced leadership skill: not many leaders are adept at navigating team conversations up and down the staircase effectively. 

Source

Tradecraft Central adaptation of a framework originally published in Peter Senge, Art Kleiner et al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization (1994).