Transcript Values-Based Decision Making

What Good Leaders Need to Know
and Do
Facilitators:
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Joan Eden, MS

Barbara Ritchen, MA
Setting the Stage
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Describe a values-based decision-making
model, using a five-step process.
Identify how personal and organizational
values impact, or should impact the decisionmaking process.
Develop a plan for ways to continue to develop
their decision-making skills.
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Think of a problem situation at work that you
have dealt with in the past.
This issue should be one that affected others.
 You may or may not have been the “decider.”
 The decision may or may not have been resolved
successfully.
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With a partner, describe this problem and the
outcome.
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Discuss what went well and why, and what didn’t
go well and why.
Clarify the Perspectives that
We and Others Bring to the Issue
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3 Powerful Elements
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Roles we play
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Life experiences
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Training
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Individual culture is made up by groups we
belong to:
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Family, gender, faith, nationality, professions
Affects:
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Language
Rituals
Rules of behavior
 Requires
a step back, a look around, and the
adjustment of point of view
 When
a decision-maker appreciates the range of
differing viewpoints early in the process, s/he:
 Increases the likelihood of meaningful dialogue
 Begins to identify biases, prejudgments and
assumptions
 Notices missing perspectives
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Ask self and others in the group:
What is your initial “take” on this decision?
 What are we taking for granted?
 Do we have the necessary perspectives to make a
good decision? If not, who is missing and how
should we involve them?
 How can we clearly state the decision that we are
responsible for making?
 How should we approach this decision?
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Big, narrow or in-between, affects how we
approach the problem
Helps set boundaries
Too narrow - could fail to consider important
issues
Takes time but increases likelihood of good
decisions
Urgency has a dramatic effect on process and
outcome
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“Look through a different window”
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To enhance and expand your own frame
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Know your own point of view
Inquire about others’ perspectives
Manage perspective
With a partner discuss the following based on the
difficult decisions that you shared earlier:
 What perspectives did you personally bring to the
situation or issue?
 What are some of the factors (roles, experience,
training, cultural groups) that you recognize
contributed to your own perspectives?
 What were the different perspectives of others that
played a role in the decision?
Comprehend the Range of
What Matters to Others and to Us
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Talk with and listen to others in a way that
opens you to be changed by what someone else
says.
Decide who is affected by this decision.
Explore roles, relationships, history and
experience that make abstract values, personal
and immediate.
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Establish useful background information by
understanding context
Discover what matters by naming values
Explain “big value” words or abstract
statements
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“Quality”
“Respect one another”
“Be fair”
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Through shared inquiry, respectful listening
and reflection on what is said
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To develop mutual understanding
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To communicate things that influence you
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To explore initial perspectives and values by
asking “why” not just “what”
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Pay attention to diverse positions
“Facts” do not exist without interpretation
Invite others to share the story behind their
values
Look for common ground
Check for the “elephant in the room”
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Check for accuracy and assumptions
Watch the tendency to stop conversation too
soon
Seek out quieter participants
Assure consideration of interests of all
stakeholders
Commit to What is Most
Important to Guide the Decision
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Third challenge on the road to a good decision:
determining what matters most and
committing to it
Often involves the painful process of choosing,
not between right and wrong, but between
right and right
Goal is to commit to what carries the most
weight and commit to guiding values
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Probe for deep knowledge
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Highlight competing goods
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Identify guiding values
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Jumping to options instead of going deeper
into the values
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Fear of expressing doubt
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“Groupthink”
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Keep a list, define values and relate to context
at hand
Encourage transparent advocacy (from
everyone)
Ask each person to identify most important
value and why
Use multiple voting
Look at values side by side
Explore differences
Change shoes
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Be clear about the few, bright guiding values
that point you toward the final decision
More important than agreement is the sense
that each got to advocate for the values s/he
believes are most significant
Most important is the sense that everyone has
been heard
Choose a Course of Action
that Aligns with the
Most Important Values
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The gathering, reviewing, analyzing phase is
done
The options lie ahead
Time has come to choose our direction—to
walk the talk
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Next task is to generate and examine possible
options that honor these values
Goal: reach a clear decision that directly links
to the most important values
Encourage participants to be creative in
developing options
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Brainstorming
Pros and Cons
SWOT Analysis
Decision Tree
Combining Options
Decision Matrix
Criteria Wt. Option 1 Option 2 Option 3
 ________________________________________
Value A
_
Value B ___________________________________
Value C __________________________________
Value D___________________________________
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Answer the following questions:
 What negative or undesirable
consequences are likely or possible as a
result of this decision?
 What do we regret about this decision?
 Are there important values that this
decision does not honor?
Anticipate consequences
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More than ruling out or eliminating options
It’s moving toward or embracing something
because of affinity or preference
The guiding values should pull us toward
actions that fit
What would you do?
Communicate the Decision to Others
Openly and Honestly
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We must:
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State the decision clearly
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Provide details in a direct, honest account
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Take responsibility for the decision
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Describe the values that drove the decision
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Acknowledge the downside or negative impacts,
including important values not honored, as well as
people likely to suffer from the decision
Transparent
Coherent
Comprehensive
1. Define the decision clearly
2. Identify the person who made the decision
3. Describe the values that drove the decision
4. Acknowledge the downside, including
important values not honored, as well as
people likely to suffer from the decision
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If the report is honest, it will:
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Build credibility
Attract support
Identify the audience that needs to hear the
decision
Remember what they need to know
Adjust the format to fit the situation
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Retaliation
Opposition
Response to bad news
Loss of esteem
Antidotes: commitment to the truth, credibility
in the eyes of those who disagree with us, and
diffusing the opposition by acknowledging
their arguments.
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“Have I been open enough about the basis for
my decision and honest about what I don’t like
about it? “ (Transparent)
“Have I demonstrated that I considered what
matters to stakeholders:?” (Comprehensive)
“Do the stated reasons for the decision clearly
connect with the choice made so others
understand?” (Coherent)
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1. Clarify the perspectives that we and others
bring to the issue
2. Comprehend the range of what matters to
others and us
3. Commit to what is most important that will
guide the decision
4. Choose a course of action that aligns with the
most important values
5. Communicate the decision to others openly
and honestly
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Questions, Suggestions, Comments
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Action Plans
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Decide on ONE thing you will do differently as
result of this workshop: write it down.
Share with partner; set time and method for followup.
Closing Remarks