Decisions drive remote work. So how come it’s so hard to make them consistently, without tying your team up in knots? Is it clear for your team when, where, and how decisions were made?

In remote spaces, it can be hard to strike the balance between having the right people involved and in the know without getting bogged down in endless conversations. We see this with lots of organisations suffering from meeting overload. People want to be in the room when a decision is made, but they don’t know when that will be. So, they show up in all the rooms…

In this episode, Alix sat down with Sharon Moorehouse, former UX Operations at Shopify and now Partner Enablement Program Manager at Tines. Sharon has lots to share about how to structure decision-making processes; include people effectively; and build trust and consult teammates without wasting their time.

What we cover: on decision-making for remote teams with Sharon Moorehouse

1. Balance the need for speed with appropriate consultation

In lots of organisations (particularly early-stage or small ones), change happens quickly and you need to make decisions fast. It can feel like you’re easily left behind.

So how do you keep moving quickly without moving alone? And when you involve people, how do you avoid over-consultation that slows things down without increasing the quality of the decisions you are making?

2. Understand the ‘blast radius’ of decisions

Sharon likes to think of decisions as having a ‘blast radius’. This is a way of exploring how different decisions effect different people. Using that check, you can consult the right people at the right level of intensity based on how they’ll be affected.

If a decision will have a big impact on them and their work, consider having a 1:1 or group conversation so you can hear directly from folks and also make it clear what is going on, when, and how. If it’s a smaller impact, think about creating more light touch, optional ways for people to engage.

3. Remote work creates better documentation but makes building trust harder

Remote work means we’re more likely to create digital paper trails as we go. This is great for when you’re trying to catch up on what’s happened and why a specific decision has been made.

But sifting through documentation by yourself is less likely to build up trust in the decision or the decision-makers. So take some time to think about how you can build up trust within your team, and in decision-making more generally.

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Listen to the full episode here.