Decision Making Without Pain: Tips and Tools for Leading Groups to Success

Contributed by Nancy Bolt

The ASCLA Library Consultants Interest Group sponsored a program at the ALA conference in Anaheim on facilitation skills on leading groups to success.  Over 100 people attended the program.  The program was presented by Patty McManus from Interaction Associates, internationally known trainers in facilitation.  Following the McManus presentation, Nancy Bolt of Nancy Bolt and Associates and Ann Joslin, Director of the Idaho Commission for Libraries discussed their own experiences with the techniques presented by McManus.

McManus lead a very interactive session where attendees were asked to participate in dyads and triads to discuss work problems they face, based on the information being presented.

McManus began by saying that setting up for a good decision making process required three tasks:  be specific about the decision to be made, be clear who the ultimate decision maker is, and decide how to involve others in the decision making process.   She went on to discuss five levels of decision making and involvement of others:

•        Decide and announce occurs when someone makes the decision alone and announces it to others without input.  This often occurs where there is a short timeline.

•        Gather input from individuals and decide.

•        Gather input from groups and decide.

•        Consensus, when the group comes to a decision that all members of the group can support outside the group.

•        Delegation to a group or person with parameters or constraints such as budget, timeline, etc.

If the consensus method is chosen, it is critical that a fallback method be chosen in case a consensus cannot be reached and the fallback decision-maker is clear.  People like to know that they have had input into a decision, even if they are not the decision-maker.

McManus then turned her presentation to the stages in a decision including opening a discussion and getting many ideas on the table; narrowing the options using multiple techniques, and then closing the discussion with a decision or recommendation.  In building toward an agreement, McManus suggested presenting a proposal, ensuring understanding of the proposal¸ revising as necessary, and the three techniques for closing a discussion and coming to agreement.