It is well known the score card for legacy project delivery practices has never been spectacular. Over the past 25 years the annual CHAOS report has found the success rate of ICT projects remained relatively unchanged. In 2022, the report found that only 31% of projects are successful, while 52% are challenged and 17% fail. Standish Group research into the reasons for this poor performance states: “.... Then we look at the root cause of project failure which is poor decision latency. Then we look at the root cause (of) poor decision latency which is low emotional maturity.”
Fast decision making means decisions are made quickly and efficiently, without sacrificing quality.
A 2017 article in the McKinsey quarterly provides a useful framework for “untangling your organisation's decision making”. It is a useful guide to help increase the velocity of decision making for agile program delivery including the delivery of complex digital transformations.
Faster decision making comes from untangling the (often) tangled web of accountability, one decision at a time. The critical starting point is to categorise the decisions that need to be made and process them accordingly. The framework offered by McKinsey article is summarised below:
While the framework is constructed to help improve enterprise-wide decision making, it is equally useful and relevant for program delivery.
The categories of decision making and a set of associated recommendations to help expedite the decision making are summarised below:
Big - Go/No-Go Decisions: ranging from major partnering decisions to potential game-changing commercial commitments these are inherently the most risky decisions. The best practice steps to take for making these decisions are:
Engage the appointed executive sponsor.
Break things down, and connect them up.
Deploy a standard decision-making approach.
Its is important this process drives right kind of interaction and discussion (not a predetermined outcome) by encouraging quality debate, sharing competing scenarios, and undertaking black-hat reviews etc
Move faster without losing commitment
Live with imperfect data and be clear what “good enough” looks like.
Once a decision is made, ensure everyone is willing to commit to it and take a gamble, even if they were opposed during the debate.
Develop tracking and feedback mechanisms to judge the success of decisions and, as needed, to course correct
Cross-cutting Decision: ranging from costings to transition planning, and task scheduling or risk mitigation actions:
These are decisions that demand input from a wide range of stakeholders.
As with Big Decisions here process is more important that the decision making authority.
Focus more on where the key points of collaboration and coordination need to be. It is always less about “who has the decision” (or, “the Big D”) because this isn’t the right starting point for cross-cutting decisons
Don’t waste time or loose focus by having too little or too much choreography.
Follow the process:
Map out the decision-making process, and then pressure-test it.
Lay out a simple, plain-English playbook for the process that defines the calendar, cadence, hand-offs, and decisions etc. Don't building complex process diagrams that are rarely read or used beyond the team that created them. KISS.
This can be a simple change management process or planning process, standardised in the PMP.
Ensure water is always running through the pipes (to find the leaks or the choke points).
Continually improve the process, train people on how to make it work (and, when necessary, how to work around it), and even where to confront, when the stakes are relatively low, any leadership tensions or stresses in organisational dynamics that it reveals.
Establish governance and decision-making bodies.
Committees are not meetings but decision-making bodies, and they can make decisions outside of their standard meeting times. Encourage them to be flexible about when and where they make decisions, and to focus always on accelerating action.
Create shared objectives, metrics, and collaboration targets.
Delegated Decisions: these are far narrower in scope than Big decisions or Cross-cutting ones.
These are the frequent and relatively routine elements of day-to-day program management, typically in areas such as team membership, information sharing and sourcing.
To increase speed, project leadership should always be looking to delegate more decisions, by asking:
(1) Is this a reversible decision?
(2) Does one of my project team have the capability to make this decision?
(3) Can I hold that person accountable for making the decision?
Avoid overlap of decision rights.
Establish a clear escalation path.
Don’t let people abdicate a delegated decision
Ad hoc Decisions: are the final category
The program’s infrequent, low-stakes decisions
With this focus on speed, its vital to recognise completely eliminating mistakes is impossible. It’s inevitable that a decision here or there will end badly. When this happens it is critical to avoid succumbing to the temptation to yank back control. In those situations it is better to hold people accountable for their decision, and coach them to avoid repeating the misstep. Similarly, in all but the rarest of cases, leaders should resist weighing in on a decision that is “escalated-up” to them during a disagreement. From the start, senior leaders should collectively agree on escalation protocols and stick with them to create consistency throughout the program.
Why is fast decision making important? What are the benefits? As evidenced by the annual CHAOS reports the benefits more successful projects:
Increased agility:
Agile projects and programs that can make decisions quickly can respond more effectively (and economically) to changes in requirements and new solution sets.
Reduced costs:
Fast decision making can help to reduce costs by avoiding delays and by preventing problems from escalating.
Improved morale:
Team members and stakeholders who feel that they are involved in the decision-making process are more likely to be engaged and motivated.
To improve decision-making speed process and procedure are important:
Develop clear decision-making processes: Start by categorising decisions (use the framework outlined above). Have a clear pre-defined process in place for making decisions to ensure that decisions are made quickly and efficiently.
Identify the key decision-makers: Again use the framework outlined above. Only the people who need to be involved in the type of decision-making process should be involved.
Gather all the necessary information: Before making a decision, make sure that all the necessary information is available. If there are gaps, call them out and qualify the risks.
Don't be afraid to make decisions: Sometimes, it is better to make a decision even if it is not the perfect decision.
Use technology to streamline the decision-making process: There are a number of software applications (like JourneyLab) that can help to streamline and structure the decision-making process.
Create a culture of decision-making: Again, using the framework outlined above, encourage team members to be proactive and make decisions within their areas of responsibility.
Empower team members to make decisions: Give employees the authority (with a published RACI matrix) to make decisions within their areas of responsibility.
Provide coaching and role-model efficient & effective decision-making: Show and support program team members to understand how to make decisions effectively.
While process and procedure are important to facilitate faster decision-making, the more critical requirement is the program leadership's emotional maturity (higher applied EQ). Emotional maturity helps project teams make faster decisions by:
Helping to reduce conflict.
When team leaders and team members are emotionally mature, they are better able to manage their own emotions and respond to the emotions of others in a constructive way. This helps reduce conflicts and create a more collaborative environment, which can lead to faster decision-making.
Helping to build trust.
When team members trust each other, they are more likely to be open to sharing information and to working together to make decisions. This leads to faster decision-making, as team members are able to move more quickly from brainstorming to implementation.
Helping to promote creativity.
When team members are emotionally mature, they are better able to think outside the box and to come up with creative solutions to problems. This can lead to faster decision-making, as team members will be able to identify and implement solutions more quickly.
Emotional maturity is not the only factor that affects decision-making speed and successful project performance, but it is the one skill that is foundational to successful project performance. Other factors, such as the process and procedures are needed to manage the complexity of the decision making and provide methods for working with incomplete information. However, emotional maturity underpins the project teams capacity to make faster decisions.
Are you an enterprise leader, directing a Digital Transformation or a complex ICT Transition or a strategic CiP program and you're wanting to assure project performance? Are you are a PM or PMO leader who’s interested in developing your own and your team’s Emotional Maturity (applied EQ)? Incorporating coaching into the PMO structure can be an excellent way to assure emotional maturity, faster decision making and more successful project performance.
When applied EQ is too often missing from projects and there’s interest in improving the quality and success of ICT project activity please contact Applied EQ Services to discuss bespoke online coaching, mentoring and consultancy services. We optimise skill sets and deliver a sense of assurance for Project Managers to confidently conduct the "orchestra" for their own projects.
Comments