Decision Rights: Guidelines for a Team

  1. In every team, there must be a clear understanding of who has primary responsibility. That person will also have the final decision authority.
    • To deviate from this and to allow an appeal from one member of the leadership team to another undermines the authority of the entire group.
  2. No team member will make a final decision with regard to a matter for which they do not have primary responsibility. Should such a matter be brought to him/her, they will refer it to the colleague whose primary responsibility it is.
  3. Members of teams are expected to treat each other with respect and work together. They need not always agree with or like each other. Outside of team meetings, they must be supportive of the team’s actions and decisions and not express derogatory opinions nor criticize or belittle the team or its members. To enforce this rule is the team captain’s job, and he/she must be strict about it.
  4. Teams cannot always act by consensus. There are times when the team’s leader needs to make the call, and then the team needs to rally around and ensure crisp execution.
  5. At other times, decisions should be “reserved.” In those cases, only the team as a whole can make the decision; or at least, the decision must be thoroughly discussed with the team before it is made. Such decisions may include, for example, discontinuing a business, key personnel decisions, the promises to our employees or customers, etc. Such decisions will properly be matters that leaders at the top of the organization must consider as a group, even though they may leave the actual decision to one of their members.