Leaders and Teams: Who Owns Decision Making?
Posted on Mon, Apr 12, 2010 @ 05:57 AM
Leaders, teams, committees, task forces. With so many organizational resources involved, why can't anything get done? Whose decision is it anyway?
General Motors CEO Edward E. Whitacre Jr. is working hard to transform GM's culture. He expects executive teams to make decisions without going through the traditional GM process of multiple committee approvals before things get done. (Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2010, GM's Plodding Culture Vexes Its Impatient CEO, by Sharon Terlep). Mr. Whitacre has it right - it's the team's responsibility to make the decision, not just look for approval.
GM hasn't cornered the market on an historically cumbersome decision making process. For many executives owning a decision is not easy - it's safer to get approval. How effective is that? Especially when there are fewer people doing more things and individual responsibilities continue to expand.
Establishing expectations - encouraging and requiring a more efficient decision making process - takes getting the right people in the right place where contribution and collaboration are welcomed by the leader. Then it becomes the team, not just the leader, who owns the decision.
I have heard executives say that "their bosses are command and control people who need to make the final decisions themselves." Really? Has anybody talked to the boss and clarified what the expectations are for the team? I've heard bosses say that "they wish their executive team would make the final decision and move on." Really? What's holding them back? Does the team feel they have the responsibility and the authority to make and implement decisions?
I recently commented on Dan Rockwell's blog post about "Bottlenecks", that "when people and teams are empowered to move things forward, they need to gather the right intelligence and be willing to make and own decisions. Sometimes the best decision is unpopular but must be made. If the bottleneck is a result of an individual, process or practice holding up the decision, then my suggestion is to identify and address the real issue head-on, in a practical and always respectful way."
In my view, leaders have an obligation to accurately communicate what decisions need to be made and the value that will result from the decision; and sincerely endorse the ownership of others. When that happens, I believe that people will be inspired to take responsibility, make decisions and act.
How have you seen a decision making process slowed down? Tell us about it in the Comments section below.