October 20, 2004
> Newsletter Home

> Shorten Your Sales Cycle

> Recording Credit Card Expenses

> Decision Making Styles

> Progressive Falling Dominos

Not yet subscribed?

Subscribe free today!
(your privacy is secure)

Natural Wisdom

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."
- Mark Twain

Makes a Great Gift!!
Order your Natural Entrepreneur T-shirt or mug today!

sponsored by:

Important:
Our Privacy Policy

Management

Decision Making Styles

Know which to use and when

Management is the art of making decisions; and good management is the art of making good decisions. To become a better decision maker, and thus a better manager, it helps to be cognizant of your decision making options.

There are four different decision making styles, each of which you might apply in different situations.

Autonomous

An autonomous decision is one you make yourself. You, as the manager, make the decision, based either on information you already have, or on information you’ve gathered from employees and other sources.

Autonomous decisions are appropriate when you have sufficient expertise, when you have private information, or when it’s urgent. Autonomous decisions also apply when you have already made up your mind, or when the problem is trivial.

Consultative

A consultative decision is when you share the problem with direct reports, discussing it with the whole team, as a team. Although you try to have everyone buy into the solution and are open to being convinced, in the last analysis the decision is yours to make.

Consultative decisions are especially appropriate when the implementation of the decision is within an individual person’s area, and your decision is easily directive. Such decisions also apply when the problem is of intermediate importance, or when you want to avoid major errors. Consultative decisions are also important when the team is not (yet) working well together and thus require decision making leadership.

Joint

In a joint decision, you and your direct reports share in the decision-making process, making decisions by consensus. By consensus, we mean that the decision may not be your first choice, but it’s something we can live with and support. Joint decisions work best when the problem is important and complex, and when there is not one single expert, but perhaps several members of the team have expertise. Joint decisions also help ensure a quality solution.

Delegative

When the problem is delegated to one or more employees who have the authority to make the decision, this is a delegative decision. Delegate when there is one expert (and you are not it). You can also delegate when the problem is not that important, or if the task can also serve as a developmental exercise (provided you and your team can live with the solution).

Keeping these definitions in mind when you are faced with decisions will allow you to be more self conscious of which style you are using, or should be using, and will help you become a better manager.

--by Jonathan Linowes

Upcoming Events

Feb 21 (8-9:30a): NH Forum on the Future, NHHTC, CR Sparks, Bedford, NH

March 1 (6:30-8:30p): Women's Business Center and MicroCredit-NH Networking Event, Bank of America, Portsmouth, NH

March 6 (10a-noon): Growth Capital Resources in New Hampshire, City of Nashua, Office of Economic Development, Daniel Webster College, Nashua, NH

March 8: (12pm -1pm) Break the Rules and Close More Sales, Amoskeag Business Incubator, Manchester, NH

March 16: Peak Pitch (pitch your plan to invstors on the chairlift), Mt. Sunapee, NH ($)

March 22: Breaking Trends in Web Develoment, UVCIA, Hanover, NH ($)

  Home | About Us | Archives | Submit | Advertise | Subscribe | Contact
  Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
  © 2004-2005 Parkerhill Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Downloads are for personal use only, not for resale to others, and may not be reprinted in any form without written permission from Parkerhill Publishing Company.