Decision making comes in many forms. One can easily see the difference between a decision that you make yourself, and a decision that must be made by a group. In the latter example, many people are not quite happy with the outcome, some even not at all, and only a few are getting the outcome that they wanted in the first place. Everyone can have an opinion on the issue, which can all vary on many factors. So what’s the best outcome?

Here in the Netherlands we could vote for a new parliament, yesterday on June 9th. Our parliament is a classic example of consensus decision making, also known as the “polder model”. A key element is that the interest of the whole is more important than the individual interest. The interests are so diverse, but consensus is needed to make decisions. Otherwise the process of decision making would be unnecessary inefficient. That is exactly what is needed. People must negotiate, they must give some and take some, in order to come to a collective agreement. In the case of our new parliament, it will be a difficult task when you consider the result and the differences between the parties.

It happens all the time in the airline industry. CDM (Collective Decision Making) is even a known and accepted term there. It is based on a common situational awareness, a shared view of the constraints of the “system”. Some points that have to be agreed upon (from Center for Collaborative Planning), and are useful in many other situations:

• everyone knows how – and agrees to how – decisions are made
• ensure all members have an opportunity to participate in decision-making
• choose the right decision making tool
• understand the benefits of using consensus
• use data to make informed decisions

Then there is this threat, also known as “Groupthink”. This is a phenomenon that comes to surface when many like-minded come together. Instead of finding the best possible outcome, people focus on the consensus and strive for unanimity. This often overrides their motivation to focus on realistic outcomes, they tend to ignore important signals that should be considered in the decision making process. This is a threat for creativity and critical thinking, both needed ingredients to strive for a good outcome. Groupthink will not be a threat in the coming coalition discussions to form the new parliament…

People from many disciplines are needed in order to have a fruitful creative process. Creative processes can lead to many possible implementations or solutions for a given situation. So how do we create a situation where the best possible outcome for the whole will be realized? You can ask yourself questions like: Do we need the same people that contributed to the possible outcomes when making decisions? And how many people do we need? Do we need people that haven’t contributed before, some experts from outside, or just people with the authority to make decisions, or are empowered? Important considerations.

Collective decision making is not just possible, a diverse group of people from many disciplines is even a prerequisite to fuel the decision making process. Without that fuel, this process can not be run through optimally. In other words, to make good decisions, we need a collective. Without a diverse collective there is no good decision making. Decisions need to be accepted and internalized by all the people that are affected by it. These people should be involved when making the decisions.