CHAPTER 12

Reach Group Decisions During Meetings

Facilitating group decisions in meetings is rarely easy. The following suggestions for choosing the right decision-making method will help ensure that everyone leaves your meetings with clear decisions and next steps for implementing those decisions.

You can use three common decision-making methods with groups: group consensus, majority vote, or leader’s choice. Each has its own benefits and challenges.

Group Consensus

Group consensus does not mean arguing and lobbying until everyone agrees. It means reaching a decision that everyone understands, supports, and is willing to help implement.

Advantages:

• Allows all meeting participants to share their expertise in order to arrive at the best decision.
• Results in all participants understanding the decision and its implications.
• Greatly enhances the chance for buy-in from all parties.

Disadvantages:

• Participants may not be familiar with this decision-making process: They may think that they all have to agree to and believe in the final outcome, so it may feel like people are spinning their wheels or heading in the wrong direction.
• May take more time than other decision-making approaches.
• May require that you have an alternative decision-making process (for example, leader’s choice) in case consensus cannot be reached within given time constraints.

How do you know when you have a genuine consensus? You’ll hear comments such as “Option A isn’t my first choice, but I believe it incorporates everyone’s needs.” Or “I don’t think Option A satisfies all our criteria, but I’m prepared to implement it as fully as possible.”

Majority Vote

The proposal or idea with the most votes wins.

Advantages:

• The group arrives at a decision relatively quickly.
• The group perceives the decision to be fair.
• You hear from everyone, even people who are usually quiet.

Disadvantages:

• Open voting requires taking public stands on issues and can result in perceived winners and losers.
• People may not feel comfortable voting according to their true feelings or voicing reservations they might have about decisions.
• Losers often feel their voices have not been heard.
• Not everyone buys into the decision.

Leader’s Choice

In some ways, having the leader decide is similar to a majority rule because the leader needs to hear what the participants think and is most likely to agree with the majority view.

Advantages:

• It’s the fastest approach to decision making and may be the best approach when time is short or when there is a crisis.
• If the meeting participants respect the leader and understand why they are making a certain decision, people are somewhat more likely to buy into the decision.

Disadvantages:

• Meeting participants may feel that the leader is ignoring their views, particularly if they haven’t been given the chance to state their ideas.
• You may encounter resistance during implementation, as meeting participants may feel less ownership or may not have bought in completely.

---

Adapted from Running Meetings (20-Minute Manager series; product #17003), Harvard Business Review Press, 2014.