{"id":2240,"date":"2015-04-30T00:01:08","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T04:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terrencemetz.com\/?p=2240"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:45:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:45:32","slug":"decision-types","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/decision-types\/","title":{"rendered":"Decision Types: Understanding the Time and Place for Individual or Group Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>The continuum of leadership behavior provides one context for understanding the best time and place for individual decisions versus group decisions. That continuum, as illustrated below, ranges from the completely subordinate-centered approach to the completely leader-centered approach. In between these extremes are another four types that blend or offset the \u201ccenter\u201d perspective.<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_2241\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img wpfc-lazyload-disable=\"true\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2241\" class=\"wp-image-2241 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/range-of-meeting-leadership-styles-1024x248.png\" alt=\"Understanding the Time and Place for Individual Versus Group Decisions\" width=\"1024\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/range-of-meeting-leadership-styles-1024x248.png 1024w, https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/range-of-meeting-leadership-styles-300x73.png 300w, https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/range-of-meeting-leadership-styles.png 1126w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2241\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Range of Meeting Leadership Styles<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Both approaches can provide value, while specific advantages depend on some of the factors discussed below. Frequently, the advantages of group decision-making include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Improved <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/decision-quality\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">quality of decisions<\/a>, proven over and over because of contributing factors such as . . .<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Ability to generate more ideas and options<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Self-monitoring that forces participants to keep each other honest<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Fewer errors in using information that is available<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Availability of more information<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Reduction of potential individual bias<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Willingness to manage higher levels of risk<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Increases <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/action-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ownership<\/a> through higher levels of understanding, acceptance, and likelihood to make necessary adaptations during implementation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Participating individuals are strengthened, learn more, and can more readily re-apply the same rationale when they are making subsequent individual decisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>Downside of Group Decision-making<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">There are some downside considerations as well including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Potential to take more time<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">May create or heighten expectations, perhaps making them unobtainable<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Could be at variance with management or senior staff<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Quality of the output or decision might be hampered if the group is dominated by an individual(s), submits to forced selection or voting (leading to \u201closers\u201d and consequent abandonment of ownership), or congeals into what Janis (1972) describes as \u201cGroupthink.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/groupthink\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Groupthink<\/a> describes a state or condition when the group regresses into poor thinking and social pressures. Janis claims that three factors increase the likelihood of groupthink, namely: insulation from qualified outsiders, leaders who promote their favorite position, and strong cohesion. You may be witnessing groupthink if you observe some of the following symptoms:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Excessive optimism and illusion of <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/overconfidence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">invulnerability<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Tendency to dismiss contrary points of view accompanied by collective efforts to rationalize their own position or discount the positions of others<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Unquestioned beliefs in the group\u2019s supposed moral superiority and ignoring the consequences of their decision(s)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Prejudicial comments and stereotyping outsiders not in the meeting<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Audible and non-verbal pressure on participants to conform<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Censorship of deviations from what has congealed to be \u2018consensus\u2019<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Research shows, however, that decision-making by <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/consensus-does-not-mean-that-participants-are-going-to-be-happy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">consensus<\/a> tends to result in higher quality decisions than command control, manipulation, persuasion, voting, and other means of compromise.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What is Consensus?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Consensus must be carefully defined. A\u00a0robust method will make full use of all the resources in the group, can be relied on for acceptable ways to <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/make-thinking-visible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reconcile conflict<\/a>, and will generate the ownership a group needs to ensure that what goes on in the meeting is carried out after the meeting has concluded. We highly recommend that \u2018<a title=\"Establishing Common Purpose Provides the Secret to Building Consensus\" href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/common-purpose\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">consensus<\/a>\u2019 DOES NOT mean we are making everyone happy. Rather, we are striving for a common acceptance and level of understanding that would include \u2018yes\u2019 answers by all participants to the following questions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Can you live with this (decision\/ plan\/ output\/ outcome, etc.)?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Will you support it professionally and not subvert it when the meeting concludes?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Will you personally lose any sleep over it?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><strong>Resulting in Synergy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">We could define synergy as the increased effectiveness of working together where the outcome becomes greater than the sum of the parts. We\u00a0are seeking an answer that did not walk into the meeting, rather it can be created during the meeting. For a <a title=\"Differences Between Meetings &amp; Workshops &amp; How To Succeed Through Structure\" href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/facilitation-dos-donts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">meeting<\/a> with nine people, for example, we are looking for the tenth answer. Synergy frequently results among groups that are seeking consensus, built around a common goal. When supported by strong facilitation, participants agree on a clear and common goal (typically the meeting deliverable), share openly, listen carefully, and think clearly, and they are likely to achieve <a title=\"Effective Groups Attain Organizational Goals and Satisfy Individual Needs\" href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/facilitator-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">synergy<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>______<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Don\u2019t ruin your career by hosting <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/bad-meetings\/\">bad meetings<\/a>. Sign up for a <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/public-facilitation-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">workshop<\/a> or send this to someone who should. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260106090117\/https:\/\/mgrush.com\/\">MGR<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">USH<\/span><\/a><\/em> workshops focus on meeting design and practice. Each person practices tools, methods, and activities every day during the week. Therefore, while some call this immersion, we call it the road to building high-value facilitation skills.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The continuum of leadership behavior provides one context for understanding the best time and place for individual decisions versus group decisions. That continuum, as illustrated below, ranges from the completely subordinate-centered approach to the completely leader-centered approach. In between these extremes are another four types that blend or offset the \u201ccenter\u201d perspective. &nbsp; Both approaches [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[453185961,453190674],"tags":[453190905,453190939,453190813,453190938,453190937],"class_list":["post-2240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-decision-making","category-planning-approach","tag-building-consensus","tag-group-decisions","tag-guard-against-bias","tag-individual-decisions","tag-individual-versus-group-decisions"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Decision Types: Time and Place for Individual or Group Decisions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Leadership style determines decision types. 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