How Many Minds Does It Take to Make a Great Decision?

Forget the Bulls or the Dodgers, the greatest team of all time is The Beatles (IMHO, of course). What can we learn from them about collaboration, competition and decision making?

Collaboration can be an important ingredient in decision making and achievement, but keep in mind that a team approach is not always the best approach. To maximize our success, we need to understand when teams produce better decisions than individuals, and when going it alone is the best option.

With a Little Help From My Friends

The benefits of teamwork are numerous, but there are situations where an experienced individual is the best option.

Team-based decision making is ideal when:

• the decision does not need to be made quickly

• it impacts a wide range of people in diverse roles

• The decision cannot be easily reversed

Individual decision making is best when:

• speed is necessary to avoid missed opportunities

• the impact of the decision is relatively small

• the decision can be reversed easily if needed

Teams have an advantage over individuals in that they are better at recognizing and overcoming “lizard brain” illusions. We are generally blind to the cognitive biases, emotional interference, and reactionary impulses that subvert our own decisions, but it is easier to recognize these blind spots in others.

If one person is influenced by illusions such as recency bias, the familiarity effect or illusory superiority, other team members may be able to see how those are affecting the decision maker.

I had a boss who got in a bit of trouble because he replied angrily to an email that had pushed his emotional buttons. He decided that going forward, when he felt emotionally tweaked about a subject he would not respond immediately. Instead, he would send his reply email to me first. Because I did not have the strong emotional reaction I could edit his reply for appropriateness and take the edge off if necessary. A team of just two and the problem was solved!

What makes a great team?

These are the traits that best inform the decision process and give the team the best chance for success.

Skills and competency

Paul McCartney and John Lennon were eventually creative and musical geniuses, but when they began their collaboration they knew very little about song construction, arrangement, studio production methods, and many other components needed to create hit songs and amazing records.

Thankfully, they teamed up with George Martin who had the necessary skill sets to fill in their knowledge gaps. When his contributions were combined with The Beatles’ creative talents, magic happened.

Team members that are skilled at critical thinking and have the ability to think creatively will contribute fresh and unique ideas, including uncovering options that others may miss.

"Come Together"

Whether a Beatles song was written by Lennon, McCartney, or a collaboration between them, they credited the writing to “Lennon and McCartney.” They wanted to be recognized as a team rather than individuals and knew that even when working alone they still influenced each others’ creative output.

Even if just for the duration of the decision process, teams need to have a sense of cohesion by taking pride in producing the best decision possible and being held accountable for the outcomes. The success of their project or organization is more important than individual credit.

The cohesiveness of a team also depends on transparency and trust, starting with the leader and the environment they create.

A team of rivals

Lennon and McCartney were fierce competitors when it came to writing hit songs. Even with the “Lennon and McCartney” credit, they each wanted to outdo the other in the number of hit songs they wrote.

While not essential in decision making, a sense of competition can motivate team members to produce their best work. As long as succeeding as a whole is the top priority, competition among team members is healthy.

Eschew conformity

When collaborating in the decision process it is important to avoid the tendency to value conformity and harmony over critical thinking and creativity. Open discussion can lead team members to go along with a consensus even if they do not feel it is the best option. A great way to avoid that is to gather options and opinions discreetly and independently before bringing them to the table.

The view from outside

There are times when an individual decision maker is the best option, even if a decision primarily (or only) impacts you and your goals. However, consulting “the outside view” by getting insights from other people who have been involved with similar decisions will help you see options and barriers you may not have considered.

It took John, Paul, George and Ringo plus George Martin and others to make the Beatles great. If you want to elevate your own decision performance, don’t forget to include your team in the process.

Think well - live well.

- Steve Haffner, speaker and mind performance strategist

Want to learn more about improving your decision making performance?

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