Which is your decision-making style? – Part V
Behavioural decision-making style
- April 8, 2021
Behavioural decision-making style
Continues …
Behavioural decision-making style is also known as flexible decision-making, team decision-making, relationship decision-making or consensus decision-making. It finds its spot in the lower right-hand corner of the decision-making dimensions plane.
How to recognize?
You value relationships and prefer structure and stability. Reactions and feelings of other people mean a great deal to you, even if you don’t like to admit this out loud. You want to make decisions that benefit everyone and to which team reacts positively. Decisions that consider other’s emotions, feelings and make others feel included and important. As such, you ask for advice and input from others prior to settling on a final choice.
Key characteristics
Maybe known as “people pleasers”
Ask confirmation from others prior to making final decision (e.g. How do you feel about it? What do you think about it?)
Value relationships above anything else in the workplace
Value harmony and avoid rocking the boat
Great for
Situations which have more than one way forward giving room for most popular decision to win
Situations with low possibility for disagreement and conflict
Challenging when
Disapproval or conflict is inevitable
Harmony overshadows opportunity for creativity and out-of-the-box thinking
Example
Tina is planning a strategy workshop. She creates three itinerary and location solutions and calls for team meeting. In the team meeting she lets everyone contribute their input to the three solutions. All are free to add in their experience, opinions and frustrations. Based on the teams input a fourth option is likely to emerge, which she decides to take forward. Before nailing down on that fourth option, she asks the team: “Seems that this is our best option for strategy workshop agenda and location. What do you think?” Tina listens carefully for everyone’s input again and if there is no strongly vocal disapprovals, she moves on with it. If, someone from the team strongly rejects the solution, she will revisit it and come up with another one.
The latest five posts covered four decision-making styles in more detail. Knowing your personal decision-making technique helps to make better decisions. It aids acknowledging the strengths and the weaknesses that walk hand-in-hand with particular method. Don’t forget, that your style is not carved in stone. You are free to shift it. There is no right or wrong method. Depending on the situation one style can be more beneficial to use than the other. Nevertheless, don’t get stuck trying to match the technique with situation. Leave room for who you are, as not all styles will feel right for you. As long as you acknowledge the strengths and the weaknesses of your particular method(s), you have already made a leap toward better decisions.
Enjoy the better decision-making!
