Benefits, mistakes and Adoption of Shared Decision Making
The Case for Shared Decision-Making in Organisations
Shared decision-making is becoming increasingly recognised as a critical leadership approach in today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) environments. Unlike traditional autocratic models, where managers or leaders unilaterally make decisions after receiving input from others, shared decision-making involves a collective process where multiple people participate in determining outcomes.
It requires clarity about who makes the decision and how it's made. In this blog, I explore the benefits of adopting shared decision-making, provide examples of its successful application, outline steps to integrate it into organisations, and offer best practices for refining the approach over time.
Spoiler Alert: there’s no switch you can flick or simple solution to this. Because it’s to do with the real-world messiness of people and power and authority, I’ve found out through the blood, sweat and tears of painful experiences that it’s complex and tricky, so it needs investment in creating clear processes and, most importantly of all, legitimacy.
Benefits of Shared Decision-Making
I have seen that when implemented effectively, shared decision-making can unlock a wide range of organisational and team-level benefits:
1. Enhanced Employee Morale and Team Spirit
Team members involved in shared decision-making feel valued, respected, and heard. This improves engagement and builds a stronger sense of ownership, even when some do not fully agree with the final decision.
2. Increased Buy-In and Responsibility
Decisions made collectively encourage participants to follow through with implementation because they were an active part of the process. If they were involved in the decision-making process, if they accept it as a legitimate process, and if they understand the reasons that the decision was made, then even if they don’t agree with the final decision, they are more likely to take responsibility for implementing their part of it.
3. Better Quality Decisions
When multiple perspectives are considered, blind spots are reduced, and a more comprehensive understanding of the issue emerges. Diverse inputs lead to smarter decisions that leverage group intelligence. Example: A marketing team brainstorming a product campaign uncovers insights from junior team members that senior staff overlooked, leading to a richer, more innovative campaign.
4. Improved Trust, Transparency & Accountability
Sharing decision-making responsibilities fosters a culture of openness and trust. Transparency in decision-making methods builds confidence in leadership and across teams.
5. Improved Alignment
Groups that co-create solutions together are naturally more aligned and help eliminate silos within teams and organisations. So people are more likely to collaborate on whatever was agreed.
6. Reduced Resistance to Change
Resistance to change is reduced as people feel less like things are being done to them from above and more like they have been part of the decision about the changes that are happening.
7. Reduced Conflict
Well-structured shared decision-making processes prevent misunderstandings and miscommunications. Differences of opinion, instead of leading to conflict, are absorbed and integrated constructively.
Conversely, I’ve seen that poor shared decision-making can have the opposite effect. Morale, trust, quality, and alignment can decrease while conflicts and resistance skyrocket. Getting the process right and making it legitimate is critical.
The Misunderstanding About Shared Decision-Making
I’ve noticed a common misunderstanding that shared decision-making happens anytime stakeholders or team members give input before a final decision is made. However, if one person ultimately makes the decision, this is not shared decision-making—it is autocratic decision-making informed by input.
The Critical Distinction
Autocratic Decision-Making: Involves one person making the final call, even if others contribute ideas.
Shared Decision-Making: Requires participation from more than one person in making the decision itself and uses a collectively agreed process to provide legitimacy.
Visualising Decision-Making Authority
One way to think about it is to imagine a group of people standing in a circle. There is a piece of paper with the word power written on it, which represents the power/authority in the group. I do this as an activity in some of our training, and there are broadly 3 patterns that show up:
One person holds the piece of paper and tells everyone else what to do. It is like the centralisation of power in the management hierarchy with Autocratic decision-making.
The piece of paper is held in the middle of the circle, with everyone holding onto it. This is shared power because nothing can happen like the group can’t do anything or move anywhere without the agreement/consent of everyone in the group/or some legitimate process for deciding together. This is more like Democratic decision-making.
People tear up the paper, and everyone has a piece of it. This is more like Distributed Decision-Making.
Also Read: How To improve Decision Making?
For example, imagine an organisation implementing a new software system. In an autocratic setup, the CEO decides which software to adopt after reviewing suggestions from their team.
In a shared decision-making process, the choice of software would involve the entire team collaboratively evaluating options, discussing features, and collectively agreeing on the best solution via a predefined process. Organisations need a process to ensure these shared decisions are legitimate, structured, and effective for ongoing collaboration.
Examples of Companies Using Shared Decision-Making
Here are three examples of organisations successfully utilising shared decision-making:
Patagonia: The outdoor retailer embraces democratic decision-making in key environmental and operational discussions, ensuring decisions align with both employee values and company goals.
Morning Star: This tomato processing company famously operates without traditional hierarchical management structures, relying on self-management and collective decision-making for its operations.
Valve: As a gaming company, Valve has a flat structure where employees decide collaboratively on project directions and major company initiatives.
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How to Adopt Shared Decision-Making in Your Organisation
We’ve simplified the adoption process into twelve steps over four phases:
Phase 1: Explore Options for Shared Decision-Making
Start Small:
Try shared decision-making in one team first before scaling across the organisation.
Establish Intent:
Determine whether you want true shared decision-making, where decisions are made collectively, or just stakeholder input for autocratic decisions. Acknowledge the difference.
Evaluate Options:
Research various shared decision-making methods (e.g., consensus, voting, consent-based decisions). Consider how much time, input, and commitment are required for each approach.
Choose a Method:
Decide if you want a uniform decision-making style (e.g., always consensus) or a situational approach tailored to each decision type.
Phase 2: Encode- Write Down How Shared Decision-Making Will Work in Your Team
Define the Process:
Collaboratively establish clear, step-by-step instructions on how decisions will be made together.
Documentation:
Write the process down as a policy, protocol, or SOP so it can be referenced for future use.
Include Addressing Disagreements:
Include strategies for resolving differences and objections within the documented process.
Foster Psychological Safety:
This creates a safe space for people to express concerns, offer alternative ideas, and work through conflicts.
Phase 3: Enforce- Agree on how the Process for Shared Decision-Making will work in Your Team
Define Roles:
Assign a facilitator to lead the decision-making process. This neutral leader ensures fairness and adherence to the steps.
Set Expectations:
Document the facilitator’s authority and role boundaries to maintain trust and consistency.
Example: In team meetings, the facilitator confirms that everyone’s voice is heard and that the process stays on track, ensuring every participant feels equally involved.
Phase 4: Evolve the Process Over Time
Review and Improve:
Periodically examine how well the shared decision-making process works. Update it if necessary to better suit the team or organisational needs.
Document Changes:
Make any updates transparent and accessible so they remain aligned with team expectations.
Shared decision-making is rarely perfect from the start; adjustments are part of the process.
Tips and Best Practices for Successful Shared Decision-Making
Invest Time in Adoption:
Treat shared decision-making as a valuable team competency that requires time and effort to refine.
Experiment and Iterate:
Continuously test and improve based on team feedback.
Create Psychological Safety:
Build trust so team members comfortably share concerns and challenge ideas.
Double-Check Decisions Before Finalising:
Once a decision has been made together, have someone (e.g., a Secretary role) write down the decision and read it back to everyone to double-check that everyone understands exactly what the decision is before it is finalised. You’ll be surprised by how people understand a decision differently if it’s not double-checked!
Handle Big Decisions in Phases:
For complex decisions, bring them to discussions multiple times:
Present the issue or proposal for information.
Open for discussion in the next session.
Finalise during the third meeting.
If agreement cannot be reached in time-sensitive situations, or if a topic has been brought to a meeting 3 times and a decision has not been reached, then consider a policy like falling back to a majority vote to avoid getting stuck.
Conclusion: The Long-Term Impact of Shared Decision-Making
Based on my experiences and learning working in this field over the last 30 years, by involving more voices in decision-making and relying on well-defined and legitimate processes, shared decision-making can positively transform workplaces. It strengthens trust, encourages collaboration, and cultivates smarter, more inclusive decisions.
Over time, shared decision-making builds a deeper culture of alignment and collaboration, empowering teams to adapt more effectively to complex challenges. By investing in shared decision-making, organisations can develop the capacity to be resilient in and adapt to the rapidly changing business landscape.
Encouraging a Collaborative Future
The future of organisational success hinges on embracing collaboration and leveraging collective intelligence. Shared decision-making isn’t just a tool; it’s a cultural shift that can unlock incredible potential.
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This blog serves as a continuation of our commitment to improving decision-making within organisations. Stay tuned for our next instalment, where we will delve deeper into the practical tools that can support effective decision-making in various team structures.
For more insights and resources, visit our website. Together, let’s evolve and adapt to the challenges of our dynamic world and build a better, more collaborative future—together.
