Try rapid decision making

Understand your role in a decision, so you can make better choices

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to make sure everyone who is involved
in a decision knows his or her role in that decision,

(00:23):
so you can make decisions faster and avoid hurt feelings.
This tip, like another one this week, comes from Michael C.
Mankin's and Eric Garden's book Time Talent Energy. Mankins and Garden,
who are management consultants with Baine, offer tips to help
business leaders make the most of their actual human resources,

(00:45):
that is, the people who are doing the work. One
way to do this get better at making decisions. If
you have ever been in a meeting where people were
stumbling around trying to reach consensus, especially if it was
clear who gets to make the actual decision, well it
might have been a little frustrated. These time wasting gatherings

(01:08):
tend to happen because people don't know what role they
are supposed to play in a decision. If you think
about the process, there are a few common roles. Some
people are there to offer input, advisory opinions based on
their expertise. Some people are there to recommend, to argue
for a specific course of action. Others are there to

(01:31):
agree that something can be done, that is, that it
is legal or technically feasible, and some people are there
to decide. Others are there to perform, that is, to
implement the decision once it's made, with their presence at
the decision being mostly about seeing what's going into it.
In a slightly different order, these roles to recommend, agree, perform, implement,

(01:56):
and decide form the acronym rapid. The upside of assigning
these roles for rapid decision making is that everyone knows
how they are expected to contribute, and equally important, how
they are not expected to contribute. So if your role
is input, for instance, you will draw on your knowledge

(02:18):
to share how you think the possible options could play out,
but you know that you are not the one making
the actual decision. If your role is to recommend, well,
you can argue for something you won't keep your good
ideas about the best approach to yourself, but you will
also realize that someone else will ultimately decide what route
to take. And if three of you are in the

(02:41):
decision role, well, you know that you are aiming to
reach consensus with those people and not with others. Someone
else's argument for or against something is interesting, but you
don't actually need to win that person over. Clarifying people's
roles and decision making is good for efficiency and morale.

(03:03):
People fill the roles the organization needs them to play,
and they understand how they're being asked to contribute. Everyone
knows how the decision will be made, rather than awkwardly
attempting to dance towards consensus, and no one feels devalued
because they thought they had a role in making the
decision but their voice went unheard. So the next time

(03:25):
you are part of a decision making process, get clarity
on your role. Ask how you are supposed to be
contributing to the decision, and if you are in charge,
make it clear to your team how each person is
going to contribute to the decision. Don't be settled about this.
Make sure everybody knows his or her role and its

(03:48):
value to the team. Then when it is time to deliberate,
your team members will understand how to work together well.
In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

(04:13):
I'd love to hear from you You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
That's b the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

(04:35):
is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. I can't

(05:02):
ge