Introduction

This is the story of Alan, a fairly new and very busy manager in a large organization, whose To Do list is weighing heavily on his mind. Like leaders in all walks of life, Alan is responsible for making critical decisions. His To Do list is brimming with issues—some quite important, some not so important. Regardless, it’s almost overwhelming.

Alan knows he should involve his people in the decision-making process, not only because it will lighten his own load but because involving more than one brain should lead to higher-quality decisions. Nonetheless, he’s unsure how to proceed.

Our depiction of Alan is inspired by a participant at a management academy we facilitated several years ago. One afternoon, this new manager raised his hand and asked, “How can I get my people to feel as though they are involved in the decision-making process?” (our emphasis).

We gave him the benefit of the doubt, knowing that his question was sincere: he wanted techniques to include his staff in decisions. But we were struck by those three words: “feel as though.” His question illustrates a dilemma shared by so many leaders, although it might be more accurate to say it like this: “How can I convince my people that they are helping me make critical decisions without my actually taking the risk of letting them make any?”

That’s the rub, after all.

When you involve people in making decisions, some of their ideas will be different from yours, resulting in a decision that’s different than you would have made without their input.

In theory, that’s fine. In the real world, there might a problem: as the leader, you’re still held accountable for those decisions.

Our workshop participant explained that he could see no good way to empower his staff without sacrificing his own authority and sense of control. He felt conflicted between his concerns about being held accountable for high-quality decisions and his desire to involve his staff in the process. In his view, since he was in charge, he should be making all the important decisions, yet he knew in his heart that his staff should participate. He simply didn’t know how to reconcile these two beliefs.

Over the past twenty years or so, a lot has changed in our collective understanding of how effective organizational leaders lead. Much has been written about how good managers excel at listening, offering feedback, coaching others, and building productive teams. Concepts such as empowerment and employee involvement now permeate the literature and are the subject of countless leadership retreats. In some organizations, even conventional labels are changing—from boss to coach, from supervisor to team leader, for example. But changing labels isn’t enough.

Agreeing that it’s important to involve people in decision making is different from knowing how. Or when, for that matter. After all, decisions run the gamut from the trivial to the consequential, and few would argue that everyone on the team should be involved in every decision. What Alan needs—what every leader needs—is a simple system to wisely and effectively involve people in making better decisions.

* * * * * * * *

What follows is the story of how Alan learns what it takes to involve others to make better decisions. He learns the ins and outs of participatory decision making from a leader famous for his wisdom and decision-making abilities: King Solomon. Undoubtedly one of the most successful leaders of his day, Solomon is renowned for the depth of his insight into the human heart, his spiritual vision, and his worldly accomplishments. In his writings, Solomon weaves together a poetic, pragmatic, and philosophical view of life in a way that offers timeless guidance to leaders facing tough decisions.

Indeed, Solomon has become an icon for wise decision making. Perhaps the most famous story about him recounts a time when two women brought before him a baby, each claiming to be the baby’s mother. He ordered the baby to be cut in half, and by watching each woman’s reaction to his decision, he was able to discern the real mother. His reputation as a wise decision maker was launched.

In the following pages, Solomon will guide you, through his dialogue with Alan, into the heart of participatory decision making. He reveals a system that every leader can use to wisely and effectively make better decisions by judiciously involving others in the process. .

Solomon will show you that there are many decision-making styles, and each has its place. You’ll learn of a continuum that stretches from Now Hear This! decisions to You Tell Me! decisions, with several stops in between. He’ll teach you how to pick the most appropriate style for any decision on your To Do list. Going deeper, you’ll explore the differences between compliance and commitment, the impact of time on team-based decisions, and how to achieve true consensus.

By the end of the story, you’ll know that there’s only one answer to our workshop participant’s question How can I get my people to feel as though they’re involved in the decision-making process?: Involve them.

This is a book that shows you how.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Too Much “To Do”

Chapter 2 How to Decide “How to Decide”

Chapter 3 Commitment or Compliance

Chapter 4 The Impact of Time

Chapter 5 The Power of Letting Go

Chapter 6 The Confusion with Consensus

Chapter 7 Conducting Creative Conversations

Chapter 8 Knowing How “To Do”

Epilogue