Meetings 7 Making and guiding good decisions

People who are in agreement in a meeting

You need to make a final decision. Learn how to be transparent, nail the decision, and have people leave happy.

Introduction
  • Why is transparency important in decision-making?

  • What strategies help a team reach a consensus?

  • How can you ensure a positive meeting experience, even if not everyone agrees?

Warm Up

Look at the following decision-making approaches. What are the advantages and disadvantages to each approach?

Note: Each approach has a context in which it’s most effective. Majority votes often work well for quick decisions, consensus is ideal for fostering collaboration, and a captain’s call can be necessary for urgent or high-stakes situations.

Decision-Making Approaches Meaning Advantages Disadvantages
Majority Vote This is a democratic approach that includes voting and picking the most popular idea.    
Consensus This is a group approach where everyone agrees on the decision.    
Captain's Call This is an approach where the leader makes the final decision.    
Language

When you are leading a meeting, there are three things to remember: 

  1. Transparency is key in a professional setting. It helps build trust and ensures that everyone understands how decisions are made.
  2. Reaching consensus means ensuring that most (if not all) team members agree on the best course of action.
  3. Even if not everyone gets their preferred outcome, they should feel that their opinions were valued. 

Now look at the table below to see some sentence structures for phrases to help support the above.

Pattern Explanation Examples
Imperatives with “Let’s” Used to encourage group action or focus

Let’s lay out the key factors... 

Let’s take a step back...

Polite or exploratory questions Often use modal verbs or wh- questions

Does anyone see any gaps?

Would anyone like to voice concerns?

Subordinating clauses Show contrast or concession

Although we chose Option A, the points raised about Option B will still be useful for future projects.

Even though we had different perspectives, I think we’ve landed on a solid decision that considers multiple viewpoints.

Noun clauses (“what we know,” etc.) Used to summarize, analyze, or explore shared knowledge Here’s what we know...
Infinitive clauses for purpose Express intent or desired outcome

Our goal is to make a decision that aligns with both the client’s needs and our firm’s strategy.

We want to be upfront about the challenges we might face with this option.

Practice

Take a look at the table below and fill it out with your teacher. Then, ask for a consensus from the whole group. 

Aspect Pros Cons Impact/Consequences
Staggered Product Launch      
Regional Pilots      
Adjusted KPIs      
Marketing Phase-In      
Operational Flexibility      

We have explored three key decision-making approaches. If you are interested in taking a more in-depth look at decision-making, we highly recommend our short course on decision-making and how to make evidence-based decisions.

Indecisiveness can cost a business more than just profit losses. Think about how you can explain this idea.

The next session will look at those who bring their own agenda to a meeting. 

Try and recall a meeting you have been involved in where people subverted or hijacked the meeting with their own objectives. How might you prevent this from happening?