Leadership Decision Making

Decision making is a very crucial thing that any individual performs in various situations. It is a matter of choosing one over another because the chosen alternative seems to be the most usable and practicable option. Everyone has probably made countless decisions in their lives, ranging from the simplest to the most complex situations. May it be in the personal or professional aspect of a person’s life, decisions are deemed important as these can sometimes advocate change in the way things normally take place.

If you belong to a team supervised by a leader, the bulk of the decision making is usually performed by the leader being the representative of the team as a whole. This kind of approach is called leadership decision making. Different from a group decision making, this approach is more authoritative rather than collaborative. Team members are relieved from the pressure of making individual decisions as the function is mostly the responsibility of the leader.

Group versus Leadership Decision Making

A group decision making approach differs from leadership decision making in several ways. Here are some of the differences of the two approaches:

Group Decision Making

• Each member has to contribute alternatives or options for a decision
• Brainstorming is conducted to generate alternatives
• A consensus is reached for a chosen alternative
• The team is responsible for any decision outcome
• The team monitors and evaluates the implementation of the decision

Leadership Decision Making

• The leader is largely responsible for making the decision for the group
• The leader may gather alternatives from the members but the selection of the best choice is done solely by the leader
• The leader may assign trusted team members to do the decision making
• The leader is responsible for the outcome of the decision

Types of Leadership Decision Making

A leader serves as an exemplary figure towards team members. The person in the position must carry the needed leadership skills in order to manage the group adeptly. One of the required skills of a leader is smart decision making. Leadership decision making can be categorized into various classifications.

a. Authoritative
In this style of decision making, the leader is the ultimate decision maker of the group. The primary role of the members is to follow the decision of the leader. An authoritative style of leadership decision making requires a leader who is quick in making decisions and is knowledgeable enough about many things. The leader has to be a good decision maker as this person will take accountability for the decision outcomes.

b. Facilitative
This decision making style in leadership requires both the leaders and the members to work together in reaching a decision under the supervision of the leader. The members are also expected to have good decision making skills along with the leader. This is very suitable when the risk for faulty decisions is not that bad.

c. Consultative
The leader may confer with the team members in this kind of leadership decision making style. Yet, the difference with this approach from the facilitative style is that the leader remains to be the sole decision maker. The leader will only seek advice and consultation from members with valuable expertise but the decision is conducted by the leader.

d. Delegative
From the term itself, the leader entrusts skilled and knowledgeable team members to make the decision for the team. This style is only applicable when the leader is confident enough of the competencies of the entrusted team members when it comes to decision making.

Pros and Cons of Leadership Decision Making

One of the obvious advantages of leadership decision making is that the team is assured of a sound and smart decision especially when the leader is an expert in decision making. Conflicts are not so common in a leadership style of making decisions.

However, the team may miss the chance of getting good alternatives from the members who have the capabilities in decision making. Also, team collaboration is not well promoted with leadership decision making style.

This is just one of the varieties of decision making styles and approaches. Leadership decision making, along with group decision making, is very suitable for a dynamic workplace condition.