Linda Henman

ph. 636.537.3774

Tips for Improving Group Decision Making 

  1. Decide how the group will make a particular decision: majority rule, consensus, or voting.
  2. To consider all available data before making a decision, encourage dialogue, not monologue. Seek and hear disconfirming evidence.
  3. Decide on the goal. Zero in on the critical and put aside the trivial. Separate "wants" from "must haves."
  4. Support a sincere search for answers and avoid a groupthink mentality that causes members not to anticipate consequences to their decisions.
  5. Frame decisions. Create a mental border that encloses a particular aspect of a situation. Outline its key elements and to create a structure for understanding it. Embrace "Occam's Razor," a principle that states "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily."
  6. Don't rely too heavily on the status quo. Ask yourselves, "If we weren't already doing this, would we choose to do this now?"
  7. Avoid sunk cost arguments. Just because you've already spent time, money, or other resources on something doesn't mean you should continue spending resources on it.
  8. Present facts, not inferences or judgments.
  9. Think about the full context of the situation, without overemphasizing one focal event.  Know what you're looking for, and train your eyes to see it.
  10. Ask for information explicitly. Create a culture that makes information sharing the default position.