#2 error: Not using the group advantage

Leaders and organizations make a mistake when they don't use the group to make strategic decisions.

Research shows groups usually make better decisions. Here’s why:

• Adds context. A group can offer a richer context to draw from: More experience, insights and knowledge, and greater understanding of trends, opportunities, threats and human biases
  

• Improves effectiveness. Teams are better able to share expertise, create novel approaches and avoid costly mistakes.
  

• Generates options. The group typically examines more alternatives.
  

• More representative. Team members can represent groups of people likely to be affected by the decision.
  

• Reveals assumptions. Group members are more likely to find unseen value, blind spots and implicit assumptions.
  

• Drives action. Group support can promote action. A group decision is more likely to be implemented with broad support.

Not using group decision making is one of the 18 categories of biases and poor practices that we have identified that can produce bad strategic decisions. Look for evidence of the extent to which organizations ignore the group and the implications of doing so in our soon-to-be-issued report for the 2016 Strategic Leaders Study, conducted as research for our upcoming book, Big Decisions: Why we make them poorly, how to make them better.