The collective intelligence of a team can be thought of as an organizational “brain.”
Our personal brain processes millions of bits of information, every moment of every day. So does the organizational brain.
Our personal brain automates as much decision making as possible so that it can focus its precious attention and energy on the tricky, the novel, the complex decisions before it. So does the organizational brain.
The best leaders of teams I know use some or all of the following when facing complex decisions to be made by the team:
- Include relevant others in the decision.
- Express gratitude to those willing to help.
- Take the allowed time to make a quality decision.
- Invite, consider, respect, provide safety for dissent.
- Practice and insist upon transparency in the process.
- Etch early decision iterations in pencil, not pen or granite.
If it were easy, anyone could do it. It’s not, and they usually don’t.
*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning.
