Heuristics
Be Explicit About Decision-Making Authority
How can we avoid the frustration of performative collaboration when a decision has already been made?
Clearly communicate the decision-making process being used for any given choice. If a leader has already made a decision, they should state it directly rather than creating a false pretense of seeking input. This respects people’s time and avoids breeding cynicism. We can categorise four different decision-making types and we can use the following scale to communicate it to people:
Example(s)
A CTO, having decided to adopt a new technology, informs the team of the decision and its rationale. This is preferable to asking for their opinion on the matter as if the choice were still open.
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