Use the following text to explain why inclusion helps improve employee buy in:
1. Overcoming Consensus
Managers often defer to consensus, or the majority of opinion, to avoid conflict and foster group harmony. But Schlesinger argues that it’s not always the right choice.
“Consensus is likely to lead to a lower evaluation of the problem and a less creative solution,” Schlesinger says. “You need to be willing to engineer in conflict, which is often perceived as uncomfortable, but is essential to uncovering some of the hidden assumptions and data that leads people to make less-informed decisions.”
Schlesinger suggests one approach of establishing a process of devil’s advocacy and encouraging individuals to poke holes in arguments and problem framing. As a result, your team will likely conduct a more in-depth critical evaluation, which could lead to a greater number of alternative solutions.
“Managers often get to convergence too quickly, which is one of the most negative byproducts of the consensus-oriented model and why it’s only appropriate for the most simplistic decisions,” Schlesinger says. “Unless you’re intentional about trying to overcome consensus, you’re going to be stuck with it and then get a group together who’s going to manifest a decision-making process that’s essentially no better than what you would come up with by yourself.”
As a team leader, it’s critical to encourage diverse thoughts and opinions around the table to discover more innovative solutions.
2. Increasing Employee Engagement
By involving your team members in the decision-making process, you show that you trust and value their opinion, which is a key element of building employee engagement.
According to analytics and advisory firm Gallup, highly engaged employees produce substantially better outcomes, are more likely to stay at their organization, and experience less burn-out. They can’t reach that level, though, unless they feel invested in their work, are given opportunities to develop their strengths, and understand how their role contributes to the company’s overall success.
Every decision you’re asked to make is a moment for you to empower others on your team by leveraging their strengths, experiences, and expertise.
Management Essentials | Get the job done | Learn More
3. Enabling Collaboration and Communication
According to a Queens University of Charlotte study, nearly 75 percent of employers rate teamwork and collaboration as “very important,” yet 39 percent of employees say their organization doesn't collaborate enough. In a separate study, 86 percent of respondents attributed workplace failures to a lack of collaboration or ineffective communication.
By involving others in the decision-making process, you create an opportunity for colleagues to share ideas, learn from each other, and work toward a common goal. In turn, you foster collaboration and help break down organizational silos. You might even surface overlapping initiatives within the company, which could save the organization resources and employees from duplicating work.
Related: 7 Skills You Need to Effectively Manage Teams
4. Surfacing Your Own Blind Spots
Self-awareness is a vital management skill, and has proven to be what sets high performers apart in the workplace. It’s a core tenet of emotional intelligence and describes your ability to understand your strengths, weaknesses, and managerial tendencies.
While you might think you know your blind spots, research suggests otherwise. According to organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, 95 percent of people think they’re self-aware, but only 10 to 15 percent actually are. Meaning, if you’re making every decision by yourself, there’s likely cultural, informational, or technical data you’re missing.
Involving your team in the decision-making process can help surface your blind spots and enable you to cultivate self-awareness in the process.
5. Getting Buy-In from the People Who Need to Implement
The people you include in the decision-making process should be those who need to implement the agreed-upon solution.
“Getting to the ‘right answer’ without anybody who is supporting it or having to execute it is just a recipe for failure,” Schlesinger says.
If, upfront, you assembled a team with an array of skills, experience levels, and backgrounds, established clear goals, and explored all viable solutions, you should reach a stage where you’re ready to not only make a decision but execute.
“In the general manager’s job, the quality of the decision is only one part of the equation,” Schlesinger says. “All of this is oriented toward trying to make sure that once a decision is made, you have the right groupings and support to implement.”
Related: 5 Tips to Becoming a Better Manager
SHOULD YOU ALWAYS INVOLVE YOUR TEAM IN DECISION-MAKING?
Managers might fear they’ll slow work down if they involve their team in every decision. When faced with the choice of involving your colleagues or going solo, you must determine whether there’s absolute clarity and enough widespread, shared data that the decision is on the cusp of obvious. Yet, even then, Schlesinger recommends bringing the issue to a group in a short meeting or touch base since these decisions likely affect every aspect of the organization.
“Even the most obvious of decisions analytically still have enormous consequences from an implementation perspective,” Schlesinger says. “I encourage people, for decisions that have reasonably significant organizational consequences, to recognize that the decision-making group has both analytical and executional responsibilities. Even if the analysis is obvious, the execution generally is not.”
Inclusion helps improve employee buy-in because it allows for a more thorough and critical evaluation of problems and potential solutions. By encouraging diverse thoughts and opinions, managers can overcome consensus, which often leads to less creative solutions. This approach of establishing devil's advocacy and inviting individuals to challenge arguments can result in a greater number of alternative solutions being considered.
Furthermore, involving team members in the decision-making process demonstrates that their opinions are valued and trusted, leading to increased employee engagement. Highly engaged employees are more likely to produce better outcomes, stay at their organization, and experience less burn-out. By empowering employees and leveraging their strengths, experiences, and expertise, managers can build a more engaged and motivated team.
In addition, inclusion fosters collaboration and communication among team members. By creating opportunities for colleagues to share ideas, learn from each other, and work toward common goals, managers can break down organizational silos and improve overall teamwork. This collaborative approach can help prevent workplace failures attributed to a lack of collaboration or ineffective communication.
Moreover, involving others in decision-making can help managers surface their own blind spots and develop self-awareness. Research suggests that many people are not as self-aware as they think, and by seeking input from others, managers can gain different perspectives and insights that they may have overlooked. This process can lead to a more well-rounded decision-making approach.
Finally, getting buy-in from the people who need to implement decisions is crucial for successful execution. By including team members in the decision-making process, managers ensure that those who will be responsible for implementing the agreed-upon solution are on board and supportive. This collaborative approach can lead to more effective decision-making and implementation within the organization.
Overall, inclusion in decision-making helps improve employee buy-in by fostering a more thorough evaluation of problems, increasing employee engagement, enabling collaboration and communication, surfacing blind spots, and ensuring buy-in from those who need to implement decisions. By involving team members in the decision-making process, managers can create a more inclusive and empowering work environment that ultimately benefits the organization as a whole.