Have you ever been in a team meeting where it seems that one participant is “holding out” on completing the team decision? It’s a frustrating experience and often times, causes the whole team to give up. Don’t give up! Try the following techniques and let me know if they helped your team get un-stuck.
1. Separate Positions From Concerns
When a team member stands on a position during the decision making process, it is driven by his/her specific concerns. It is the team’s responsibility to help the team member identify those concerns and suggest ways of addressing them in the decision.
A useful question for surfacing concerns is: “What is most important to you in this situation?” Focus on this point to reach the person’s comfort level.
2. Lower The Risk Of The Decision
Some team members experience discomfort when they feel a decision is irreversible. This can be accommodated by framing a course of action in a manner that lowers the risk level in acceptance of the decision. You can lower risk by:
- Suggesting that the team “pilot” the recommended course of action for a limited trial period.
- Minimizing the initial area of impact for the recommended course of action.
- Looking for ways to assure the team member(s) that their concerns will be addressed.
- Asking the concerned team members to be part of the subteam responsible for monitoring the progress of the decision.
3. Focus On Areas Of Agreement
Your team could be moving right along in the decision making process when a team member gets stuck on a minor point of disagreement. It’s very easy, at this point, for the team to forget all the positive progress they have made toward a decision, and focus their attention on the area of disagreement. If you see this happening within your team, make a point to place the disagreement within the context of agreement. List all of the points on which the team members agree, then summarize the area of disagreement. Focus on the small areas of disagreement until each team member is satisfied.
4. Temporarily Table Areas Of Disagreement
If your team is still stuck after using the technique above, write the issue down on a flip chart or board and let it “cool off” a while. Move on to other areas of discussion. Often, just leaving a subject for a short time, then revisiting it helps the discussion get moving again.
5. Don’t Trash The Bad AND The Good
Sometimes team members will reject an entire idea because they have concerns regarding a small part of the decision. In this type of situation, the “good” part of the idea is being thrown out with the “bad.” If this happens during a meeting, ask the resisting team members to specifically describe those parts of the solution on which they agree. Help them identify those parts they disagree on and work with them to allay any concerns.
- Keep discussion objective, focused on issues
- Ask for opinions and suggestions, especially from “the quiet ones”
- Seek out areas of agreement in the different alternatives
- To be sure your rationale is clear, use the word “because” frequently – “I recommend this because….”
- Avoid win/lose positions
- Don’t lay down ultimatums
- Avoid voting, averaging, or flipping coins; these techniques are only appropriate for minor team decisions
- Don’t give in merely to placate or reward a dissenter
- Don’t bargain – “I went along with your idea last time, so this time you should support my idea.”
- Continue to clarify the goal/problem/opportunity
- Don’t sulk if your idea isn’t the final team decision
- If a stalemate occurs, reschedule the meeting to give time for reflective thinking
Team decisions take more time, however involving all members in the process builds “buy-in” and saves time in implementation.
Denise O’Berry (aka ‘Team Doc’) provides tools, tips and advice to help organizations build better teams. Find out more at http://www.teambuildingtips.com
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