Fundamentals of Level Three Leadership

29. Decision-Making Pyramid

Concept

There are many different ways to make decisions. These include: majority (voting), hierarchical (tiered responsibilities), and consensus (we talk until everyone agrees). Toni Bauman adds proportional to this list; she argues that some people in a group may have disproportional influence on a decision.⁸ McKinsey and Company argues for six dimensions of decision making, each with bi-lateral anchor points:

1. Ad-hoc versus Process driven

2. Action versus Caution

3. Broad data versus Narrow data

4. Corporate versus Personal

5. Continuity versus Change

6. Facts versus Stories.⁹

These axes, they argue, create five distinctive decision-making styles: visionary, guardian, motivator, flexible, and catalyst.

A major ...