INTRODUCTION

Managers make countless individual decisions for which they are personally responsible and accountable. However, in most organizations managers collectively are also required to decide and implement decisions that will impact their entire organization simultaneously. It is these latter collective decisions that I refers to as “CORPORATE”.

In this series of six articles, I lay out a step by step process for corporate decision making. My experience has demonstrated that it both helps groups arrive at and implement sounder decisions and provides the sort of management accountability any organization has the right to expect from those in charge.

I suggest reading them in order because each step builds on what comes before. This article is STEP 2

GROUP MEMBER REQUIREMENTS

I have been a member of quite a few corporate decision making groups.  As an individual member, I evolved an approach to my participation that felt right to me.  But on many occasions, I was uncertain whether all of us in that room shared a common consensual view of what was expected of us when it came to PREPARATION or PARTICIPATION.

The most effective groups are those where all participants have agreed to a collective norm around preparation and participation behavior and hold each other collectively accountable for meeting those norms.  The group chairman may wield the largest hammer in maintaining behavioral discipline but peer pressure is often a more effective long-term incentive.

PREPARATION — The most effective discussion and decision meetings are those where all group members have done some prior research, reading and thinking regarding the issue or issues at hand. This requires a specific agenda announced in advance and the dissemination of appropriate material for review.

Effective groups usually create a position I call the PROCESS MONITOR who carries out a series of critical functions at various stages of the decision making process.  The Process Monitor ideally is not a voting group member. Their role is support administrator whose initial activity is the dissemination of meeting agendas and advance material.

PARTICIPATION — Here I am not suggesting it is sufficient for all group members to have said something during their meetings. Participation in the most effective  sense requires all members to frankly and honestly express their views, regardless of personal discomfort with conflict, who may disagree, whose feathers may get ruffled, or any potential political or bureaucratic consequences.  It is about open honesty that allows a full and thorough airing of the broadest possible range of perspectives.

Sound corporate decisions demand a clash of ideas and a thorough examination of the facts and data from a variety of angles.  A dedication to make this happen should underpin the participating behavior of all group members.

It usually takes time for most groups to gain comfort with the emotional rough and tumble involved when ideas and perspectives clash.  And it is important that the group itself ensures these exchanges never get personal.  The goal is to examine the ideas and the quality of the arguments.

Consistent failure to adhere to the group norms for preparation and participation should be grounds for replacing group members.

UPDATED May 2026

Categories: Exercising Responsibility, Leadership, Managing & Leading

Tags: advice for managers, advice for managers from managers, best managers, decision making, effective management and leadership, effective managers and leaders, executive leadership, exercising authority, management accountability, management advice, Managing & Leading