Too many people making decisions!
In today’s article, we’ll explore another challenge on some projects – too many people making decisions, or – too many cooks in the kitchen!
On one project I led a number of years ago, there was a general feeling among the team that everyone had to be involved in making decisions, even in an area that was not their expertise. Now, sometimes having others involved in the brainstorming process is of value – different perspectives equals better solutions. In this case, however, it went far beyond that. Not only did everyone want to be involved in discussions around an issue but they expected – and some demanded – that their solution be the one utilized to solve the problem. And in many cases, the solution was not the right one.
You might ask if I had a strategy in place for how decisions would be made on the project – I did. The problem went beyond the team and included their immediate managers, who felt like their department was the sole decision making authority. The solution to this one was not an easy one. It required me having a heart-to-heart with the sponsor regarding the situation and highlighting a few of the decisions that, had they been brought forward, surely would have impacted the project negatively. This included a few decisions the sponsor wanted to happen that were just not the right ones. By showing the impact to the bottom line if a decision was moved forward, it was easier for the sponsor to see that there was a major problem that had to be addressed.
In a project governance committee meeting, we brought forward the situation to get input and resolution from the governance committee. We needed them to define the authority level around decision making and we needed them to do so in a way that was very clear to everyone but didn’t impact getting decisions made on the project because of delays (e.g., we didn’t want the governance committee to have to make every decision.)
We decided to use the RAPID® decision making model moving forward on the project. We defined, with the help of the governance committee, who fulfilled each role in the process and ensured expertise by being very specific as to who was involved for technology problems, vendor issues, etc.
It was rolled out to the team and, while it took a times of reminding everyone how decisions were being made and pointing back to the model, we eventually got there! Decisions were made more effectively and efficiently and they were the right decisions.
It is important to understand up front in the project how decisions are going to be made and to ensure everyone supports that process. I frequently use the RAPID® model on my projects. I find it a very valuable tool even on the most complex projects. I also spend time in initial sponsor and governance committee meetings to ensure they are on board with how decisions will be made and understand when they want to, and need to, be involved.
