Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes and Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity

Chapter 17. Decision-Making Meetings: Aligning on Agreements & Getting Commitments

Meetings reach the pinch point or turn when decisions need to be made. Orienting and engaging a group and even getting it to think through its ideas all come to a head when people have to agree and make commitments. Visual meetings are a real help if you follow some of the simple guidelines outlined in this chapter. The process is the following:

1. Be clear about what decision process you want to use before heading into that part of the meeting. (Use the illustration of Decision-Making Processes shown here to discuss choices with your meeting sponsor.)

2. Make a "decision funnel"—a chart of steps you will take to bring closure.

3. Make the decision and commemorate it graphically.

4. Lead a confidence check.

5. Document and communicate the decisions after the meetings in e-mail.

We'll go through these step-by-step and see how visuals can help.

TYPES OF DECISIONMAKING PROCESSES

How power is distributed and what people are loyal to are two powerful determinants of which type of decision will be needed to be effective. The four decision-making approaches shown here tend to work best if conditions are as described on the grid.

Be Clear about Decision Choices

In teaching facilitators how to lead decision processes I surveyed the literature on the field and created this integrated illustration of the different decision choices. I ...