1.5 - About University

10.10C LOSURE: HELPING G ROUPS M AKED ECISIONS AND P LANS E FFICIENTLYInspired by John Cleese, Victor Vroom, Philip Yetton, and John E. Jones.Have you ever been to a meeting at which the discussion went on and on? Or a decision wasjust about to be made, and the topic switched to a new issue? Or much of the meeting wasspent deciding what was decided at the last meeting? Closure skills improve the efficiency ofgroup meetings. They do this by ensuring that decisions are made, plans are understood, andpeople are committed to taking appropriate action.Using clear terminology helps:✔Terms such as consensus and consultation are often misunderstood. Consensus meansmost agree, and everybody can live with the decision. Consultation, on the other hand,is a process of gathering input from others, but then making the decision yourself.Thus, when you’re consulting with someone, it’s important to let the person knowthat, while you will be listening carefully to what he or she has to say, you alone willultimately be making the decision.✔ The distinction between consensus and voting can be explained this way: With voting,50 percent or more of the people in the group need to agree; with consensus, 50 percentor more of each person needs to agree. Thus, with consensus, the decision reachedmay not be your preferred option, but you can live with it and support it.Use this matrix to ensure that you are clear on terminology.C LOSUREMATRIXMethodof decidingUnanimityTypical questionor statement“Do we all agree?”ProsHigh degree of ownershipand commitment.Everyone has a minimumlevel of acceptance.ConsCan take a lot of time, andmay prove to be impossible.Can appear wishy-washy. Atits worst, consensus mightresult only in compliance.Consensus“Can you live with this?” or,“Can you go along with this?”Voting“How many agree?” or, “Aremost of us agreed?”Fits with our democraticculture; relatively fast.May create losers andwinners.ConsultationDirective“I need to make this decisionmyself, but I want your input.Can you tell me …?”“I’ll make the final decision.”Encourages input andinvolvement, even thoughthe leader will ultimatelymake the decision.Fast. Can break deadlocks.Useful in emergencies.Some people may think thatthe leader never really heardthem out or took theirperspective seriously.People may think that theirviews were not considered.May result in implementationproblems.326 SECTION 10 TOOLS FOR LEADING TEAMS AND GROUPS