This leadership team struggles with making decisions. They get lost in loops of debate and discussion. Nothing ever gets fully resolved, and the same conversations happen every quarter. They don’t seem to realize a decision needs to be made, let alone that it needs to be documented and socialized. How do I break this pattern?
It’s common. It happens for all sorts of reasons. What we know for sure is that it’s dysfunctional and it needs to stop.
We also know it repeats. That means it’s a stable dynamic.
So, first, destabilize it.
Your most dramatic options will be the most tempting. They’re also the least guaranteed, and most dependent on luck.
Consider a more patient approach, to slowly but surely cause the conditions that have enabled this dynamic for so long to instead shift underneath it.
Conditions ripe for change:
how the need for a decision gets discovered
how the need for a decision gets signaled
who is made aware of the need for a decision
how the need for a decision is presented
how the decision itself is framed
which parties participate in a decision
what those parties’ needs are
whether those parties feel their needs are being met
whether decision-making follows a process, and what that process is
whether that process is explicit or implicit
whether discussion is in conversation (in person, by phone, on Zoom/Teams/WebEx) or in correspondence (by email, in documents, etc.)
whether discussion is unstructured or structured
whether discussion is unfacilitated, facilitated by one of the team, or facilitated by a third party
how discussion begins
how discussion ends
what questions get asked during discussion
whether the decision has a default answer
whether the aim of discussion is consensus, challenge, or addressing objections
…
(Wish you had a list of conditions like these for your situation? Let’s talk.)
There’s no shortage of conditions that you might alter or influence (and many of them with ease). Gradually, incrementally, changes here will destabilize the existing dynamic and invite another.
It’s physics, not luck.
But you must be deliberate and methodical.
Many of our most profound breakthroughs have come from having a single, clear question, and then thinking about it repeatedly, at great length, over many days. Walking, driving, in the shower… wherever and whenever possible.
Trouble is, you need to find the right question.
For this situation, try this one on for size, and think on it deeply: “What conditions are enabling this dynamic?”
The situation at the top of this email is an example of what you shared in response to our recent survey. 1% of our readership participated (n=22), and we’re grateful you did!
Which one of these would be helpful to hear about next?
Ben and David
StrategyTeaming.com
P.S. Want a second opinion on a challenging situation of your own? Let’s talk.