Ending the Deliberations

…it is your job as a manager to bring the discussion to closure.

Knowing when to end deliberations can be difficult. If a group makes a decision too early, it might not explore enough possibilities. If you sense that your group is rushing to make a decision, consider adjourning a meeting before making a final choice, and reconvening at a later time. Ask each participant to try to find a flaw with the decision to present at the next meeting.

The flip side of deciding too early is deciding to late, which is equally problematic. If the group takes to long to make a decision, it may waste valuable time and possibly even miss the opportunity to solve the problem at hand. If your team insists on hearing every viewpoint and resolving every question before reaching a conclusion, the result is the same: your discussions will become a tiring, endless loop. If you find your group is stuck going around in circles, it is your job as a manager to bring the discussion to closure. You may need to simply “force the issue” by establishing a deadline for a decision, urging your group to use the best information available within that time frame.

ACTION POINT: Making good decisions requires a time for deliberations to end and then making the decision.