Essay: Myths That Undermine Decision Making

Most problems involved with group decision making do not have anything to do with psychological issues, but more with the myths about the teams themselves. The article discusses how decisions at the highest level are made in many different meetings, formal and informal. The article also discusses how different people in the organization carry different levels of decision making responsibilities. Finally, the article mentions that asking all employees to think like a CEO can be a huge mistake.

One myth that many people fall prey to is that a single team makes all of the major decisions for an organization. In reality, the decisions being made at the highest levels may only involve a handful of executives and not necessarily the entire executive team. However, this may lead to some confusion over the locus of control. Executive team members who are frequently presented with deals that have already been finalized may feel disempowered.

Another myth that many people believe is that the executive team is a body of equals. In organizations, different people carry much more weight and responsibility than others. The article compares this to the House of Representatives, where California has a bigger say than a smaller state, such as Rhode Island. Problems are created when members have differing views on what kind of advice they are being asked to give. The solution to this problem is simple. The CEO must make clear before the meeting where the group stands in the decision making process.

The third myth entails that all executive team members should adopt a CEO's perspective. However, asking everybody to "think like a CEO can be counterproductive". According to the article, organizations should not choose the generalist or functional perspective, but chose a model that best relates to the type of decision being made.

By reading this article, I learned that addressing these three decision making myths will greatly enhance an employee's ability to contribute to the organization. When an employee knows their role within the company, they will be able to fully participate in the decision making process.