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Perrigo Company plc

Matrix Organizations does not mean Consensus Decisions

We have all experienced it. You walk into a project meeting that crosses various groups within your organization, and the project manager identifies an item that needs a decision. Everyone in the meeting looks at one another and comments on the pros and cons, but nobody makes a decision. While many on the project team may agree on an approach, there is a need for a final decision that can often be clouded by ambiguous authority and ownership.

The problem is often clarity of decision-making authority within roles and responsibilities. In an effort to be inclusive and provide a feeling of team collaboration, organizations can create a culture and environment of indecision and confusion regarding which persons have the authority and responsibility to make decisions.

Another issue may be the absence of delegating authority. In an environment where micromanagement and limited empowerment exist, decisions must often travel to senior leaders for final approval. Those provided titles and increased responsibility may not receive the decision-making authority needed to keep bureaucracy and inefficient processes from prevailing.

This is not to say that people and teams should not strive for a consensus to understand the best options when making decisions. In fact, there are times when the consensus of a group can create a recommendation that is put forward as the final decision. However, when technology, business processes, and people cross organizational lines, without clarity of who has the authority to make decisions for given situations, project teams can swirl and delay actions.

Also, consider the challenge of workload and gaps in knowledge. When a process is being reviewed, and there are challenges to efficiency and value, the steps within the process may cross many groups and potentially other processes. These situations can be confusing, and finding those responsible and empowered to make decisions is often difficult. In some cases, team members may wish to deflect responsibility in favor of higher-priority work, and in other situations, people take ownership to drive a lower-priority agenda when they are not the primary stakeholders.

One of the primary contributing factors to the decision-making challenge is not ensuring roles and responsibilities are clear from the beginning of the project/work stream and when new members join the effort. Defining the decision-making authority when clarifying roles and responsibilities helps to establish expectations and decision hierarchy. Project teams work more quickly to resolve issues when there are identified decision-makers.

Another contributing factor can be organizational ambiguity. If the existing organization is not clear on ownership, the gap in understanding decision authority will spill over into projects. Organizations should strive to understand technology and process ownership as a part of everyday operations. This will help in the strategy and execution of decisions impacting budgets, priorities, work streams, and projects.

In organizational leadership, the best leaders foster opportunities for discussion and collaboration, which leads to understanding and informed decisions.

What can be done to help avoid an ambiguous decision-making process?

Organizational Clarity - Define clear roles and responsibilities that include decision-making authority
Projects - Ensure project management processes identify decision points and owners of the decisions
Culture - Drive decision authority while promoting collaboration and a supportive culture of accountability
Ownership - Assign ownership of products, processes, and technology

The ability to collaborate is key to gaining insights and varied perspectives. This allows for a more holistic understanding of a situation and improves chances of identifying the best options. In the military, the rank of a person is worn on their uniform, making it very clear who makes the final decision. In organizational leadership, the best leaders foster opportunities for discussion and collaboration, which leads to understanding and informed decisions. Obviously, there are moments where discussion and collaboration are not appropriate or timely, but since we are focused on the business world, let's assume most of the time, we have this luxury to some extent. In the end, when there is clarity of authority and leadership, teams can avoid the debate around the topic of who makes the decision and focus on discussion, understanding, and identification of options.

The articles from these contributors are based on their personal expertise and viewpoints, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of their employers or affiliated organizations.