SuperadditiveThe Decider

Method 03 of 08

Consultative

I decide, with input.

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What it means

One person retains the final decision but deliberately gathers advice before making it.

Consultative decision making is useful when insight is distributed but decision authority does not need to be.

Best when

  • You need expertise you don't possess.
  • Different stakeholders see different parts of the problem.
  • The decision has a clear owner.
  • Broad agreement is unnecessary.
  • You need to anticipate consequences before acting.

Watch out for

  • Pretending people have more influence than they do.
  • Consulting only people who already agree with you.
  • Collecting endless input.
  • Blaming advisers when the outcome is poor.
  • Confusing inclusion with decision rights.

How it works

  1. Define the decision.
  2. Identify people who know something you don't.
  3. Tell them their role.
  4. Ask focused questions.
  5. Decide.
  6. Close the loop.

Useful prompts

  • What am I missing?
  • What could make this fail?
  • What would you do?
  • Who will this affect differently than I expect?
  • What assumption should I challenge?

Run the decision

Want help holding the process?

A short tool built for consultative decisions. It keeps the steps, roles and record straight. It never makes the call for you.

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Common traps

Consultation becomes theater.
Never ask for input after the real choice is already made.
The same inner circle gets consulted every time.
That creates blind spots.
Nobody knows who owns the decision.
State it at the beginning.
The decision maker hides behind advisers.
Final accountability stays with the decision owner.

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