Decision Making
Decision making is enhanced when the decision, how it will be taken, and people's views are clear
Types of decision-making:
Directive
The leader makes the decision and informs the group
Delegation
The leader (or the team) sets some boundaries and delegates the decision to others (an individual or a test team)
Testing
The leader makes a tentative decision and tests it with others, and is willing to modify based on feedback
Voting
Majority, quorum, etc
The leader presents a problem/ situation and asks the group for recommendations. The leader reviews inputs and makes final decisions
Consultative
Consensus
The leader joins the team as an equal partner, having no more or less authority. The final decision must be acceptable to all parties.
Decision making in complexity involves
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Paradox
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Trade-offs
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Impact & Consequences
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Managing risk
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Alignment
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Test & learn
Attitude to Complexity
The ability to engage with complexity is important when looking to assess the reasons for any failure. It can be tempting to look for simple answers and, by implication easy to blame others if something goes wrong
COMPLEXITY INCREASES WHEN:
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working across silos or different organisations
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different cultures interlock
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goals are misaligned
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relationships are adversarial
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communication is sparse or poor
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mindsets and attitudes are fixed
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there are lots of stakeholders
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the context changes quickly
WHEN COMPLEXITY INCREASES
RELATIONSHIP TRUST IS CRUCIAL
BUILDING TRUST REQUIRES ...
Authenticity
I experience the real you...
In a world growing ever more complex, crowded, and interdependent, Thinking in Systems helps leaders avoid confusion and helplessness, the first step toward finding proactive and effective solutions.
COMPLEX
Cause and effect are obvious in hindsight, with unpredictable, emergent outcomes
COMPLICATED
Cause and effect relationships exist, but are not self evident, and therefore require expertise
CHAOTIC
No cause and effect relationship can be determined
SIMPLE
Cause and effect relationships exist, are predictable and are repeatable