A balanced approach to decision making

Here’s a story from my salad days. I was working in stakeholder relations with a large organization based here in Vancouver. Part of my responsibility involved attending project meetings. I was young, green and woefully ignorant on the technical complexities of the project, so I happily took on the role of listener. It turned out to be a real advantage and learning opportunity.

In this particular instance a group of senior professionals were talking about technical options. One of the gentlemen noted that he felt the approach they were discussing was too conservative and would limit future options. The response to this statement from the colleague who favoured this option was: “I disagree.. let me restate my opinion once again.” With that the level of tension in the room increased significantly and the two leading proponents of the differing alternatives were politely at each others throats until the end of the meeting. The rest of the attendees sat and watched. Of course there was no resolution.

I’m sure most of you have been in similar situations. The lines are drawn, people take their positions and there is no forward movement. Our world trains us to be very good advocates. Our society rewards us if our solutions are adopted so we like to get in there and tell people exactly why our ideas are best. Unfortunately advocacy alone can lead to conflict and ideas that are not sufficiently explored - culminating in bad decision making.

In the example above we needed some inquiry. Inquiry helps people to better understand one another’s’ reasoning and thinking behind a solution. So, for example, in the situation above a little bit of inquiry in the form of a question like: "Can you give me an example of what you mean" or "Can you share with me the data you are using to support that conclusion?" would have avoided conflict and allowed deeper and more meaningful exploration of the proposed approaches.

Inquiry is particularly important as our world - and the problems we deal with - become more and more complex. Inquiry can be used to truly understand the issue and the implications of proposed solutions. It is also useful when we reach an impasse. By asking the right questions people can begin to think outside of the box and look at the world from someone else’s perspective. And of course questions can be wonderful for drawing out the wisdom in the room, particularly when some people are hesitant to share ideas.

Currently I’m working with two other consultants on a new business opportunity. We are all strong minded and independent and each of us is very good at advocating his or her position. For this reason we have set up our exploration phase to include a significant amount of inquiry. This allows us to better understand one another’s’ thinking. It’s proving to be a fascinating process and we are discovering more depth to our partnership then we had earlier imagined.

However, we should be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Being a good advocate is also important; we need to have opinions, as long as we are open to listening to others.

Inquiry and advocacy should work together. Inquiry broadens and deepens our understanding. Advocacy leads us to action. Without a balance between inquiry and advocacy people are more likely to remain neutral. As leaders, it is our role to balance the two to ensure effective interactions.

How do you balance inquiry and advocacy? Generally inquiry precedes advocacy - assuming we do not have all the information. Through inquiry we expose ideas and ask others to challenge and probe them. However if all the information is available then we can go ahead and advocate – which hopefully will lead to action.

Here are some approaches you may wish to consider in developing your inquiry skills:

Ask in a way that does not provoke defensiveness:
“Can you help me understand your thinking here?”

Draw out reasoning:
“Where does your reasoning go next?”

Explain your reasons for inquiring:
“I’m asking you about your assumptions here because…”

Test what they say by asking for broader context:
“Can you describe a typical example?”

Check your understanding:
“Am I correct that you are saying…”

Explore, listen and offer your own views:
“Have you considered…..”

A few tips for effective advocacy:
• Provide data and back up information
• Help people understand the context for an approach
• Make reasoning explicit
• Encourage others to explore your views
• Acknowledge weaknesses, and
• Actively inquires into others' views.


Nicky Fried is the principal of Nicky Fried Consulting Inc. She helps organizations to translate change and strategy so that employees understand where the organization is going and how they support it through their daily actions. Learn more about us at www.nickyfried.com or read her blog at www.nickyfried.blogspot.com