How to Run a Decision-Making Session in 20 Minutes

Introduction

The ability to run a decision-making is the backbone of strong leadership, yet in many organizations, this process can often feel drawn out and inefficient. Long meetings lead to frustration, disengaged teams, and slow progress. But what if you could reach meaningful decisions in just 20 minutes?

With the right preparation, framework, and tools, you can transform the decision-making process into a quick, collaborative, and highly effective activity. This guide will walk you through everything needed to run a 20-minute decision-making session that gets results, boosts team productivity, and keeps everyone on the same page.

Why Quick Decision-Making is Crucial for Managers

Time is a precious resource, particularly for managers and team leaders juggling multiple priorities. Swift decision-making allows teams to maintain momentum, adapt quickly to changes, and seize opportunities ahead of competitors.

However, speed alone isn’t enough—the outcomes must be informed, collaborative, and supported by stakeholders. To achieve success, managers must secure the team’s buy-in; without it, the outcomes may fall short. Striking that delicate balance requires structure, preparation, and the right tools.

This blog will equip you with a step-by-step plan to run a decision-making session that leads to quick, actionable outcomes while keeping your team engaged and aligned.

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Run a Decision-Making Session That Works — Even in Just 20 Minutes

Successful decision-making starts before the clock even begins ticking. Here’s how to lay the groundwork for an efficient session.

Define the Objective

Clearly identify the decision to be made. Are you selecting a new product initiative? Prioritizing impact projects? Aligning creative direction? Whatever it is, ensure everyone in the room understands the goal beforehand.

Tip: Avoid overwhelming your team by tackling too many choices at once. Focus on one decision per session.

Invite the Right Stakeholders

Ensure that everyone attending has a key role in the decision at hand. This avoids unnecessary opinions while ensuring all critical perspectives are represented.

Gathering opinions from stakeholders is essential for making well-rounded decisions, as it ensures diverse perspectives are considered. For example, if your team is deciding on a new marketing campaign, insights from both the sales team and customer support team can highlight potential opportunities or issues you may not have initially considered.

Similarly, involving a product manager when choosing a feature to prioritize provides clarity on technical feasibility and alignment with broader company goals. By incorporating input from relevant stakeholders, you create a more informed environment and increase the likelihood of achieving successful outcomes.

Set Expectations

Communicate the session’s structure and time limit in advance. This keeps the meeting focused and helps participants prepare accordingly. Consider providing a brief agenda or outline of discussion topics to guide the decision-making process when you run a decision-making session.

For longer sessions, schedule breaks and clearly communicate them to attendees. This allows for necessary mental and physical rest, promoting productivity and engagement.

Encourage Active Participation During a Decision-Making Session

Encouraging active participation from all attendees is crucial for productive discussions. Ensure that everyone feels included and has equal opportunity to contribute their thoughts and ideas.

One way to achieve this is by using different facilitation techniques such as round-robin sharing or asking open-ended questions.

Additionally, make sure to actively listen to others’ contributions and acknowledge their input. This not only shows respect for their perspective but also validates their participation in the discussion.

Selecting the decision-making method can greatly impact how much time is needed for discussion. For example, using the pairwise voting method allows participants to compare only two choices at a time. This simplifies the process, making conversations more focused and decisions more straightforward.

Choosing an efficient method not only streamlines discussions but also ensures that the group can reach conclusions without unnecessary delays, promoting both productivity and clarity.

Manage Conflicts

Conflicts can arise depending on the subject being discussed, as differing opinions are a natural part of group decision-making. It is important to address these conflicts thoughtfully, ensuring that everyone feels they have a safe space to express themselves.

At the same time, disagreement should be welcomed as a constructive element, provided it is communicated respectfully. Encouraging open, respectful conversations helps to maintain a positive atmosphere while allowing diverse perspectives to contribute to the outcome.

Example: “To manage conflicts effectively, we’ll use the pairwise voting method during this 20-minute session, ensuring all options are considered and disagreements are addressed collaboratively in real time.”

Choose the Right Tools

Streamlining decision-making requires a collaborative platform. Tools like Noni are designed specifically for team decision-making with features that encourage honest discussion, real-time input, and clear outcomes.

Noni comes in particularly handy for tasks like selecting impact initiatives, such as community projects or identifying the most important sustainability activity for a team or department. It’s also great for product planning, like using feature selection with stakeholders, or for identity-building within teams, such as choosing a team slogan or planning a team event.

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The 5-Step Framework for 20-Minute Decision-Making

Here’s a streamlined process that balances collaboration with efficiency to drive results in just 20 minutes.

Step 1: Kick Off with Clear Context (2 minutes)

Begin by briefly outlining the objective and the criteria for the decision. Be concise and factual to set a focused tone.

Example: “We need to decide on the one priority project for next quarter. Our focus will be on impact, feasibility, and alignment with company goals.

If you’re using collaboration tools like Noni, create a dedicated room for the decision-making session. Give the room a clear, descriptive name that reflects the topic, so participants immediately understand its purpose. Share the room link with all participants ahead of time to ensure everyone can join seamlessly.

Step 2: Gather Options (5 minutes)

Open the floor for brainstorming and gather all potential options relevant to the decision. Ask for concise inputs to maintain momentum. In Noni, kick off the brainstorming session to encourage participants to share their ideas while also exploring suggestions from others.

If running the session asynchronously or managing hybrid teams, direct participants to submit their ideas beforehand. This ensures no time is wasted collecting ideas during the meeting.

Step 3: Use Pairwise Voting and Discuss the options (10 minutes)

With all options on the table, employ a pairwise voting technique to quickly rank them based on importance or alignment with your criteria.

Pairwise voting allows participants to compare two options at a time, making the process less overwhelming and more focused.

While comparing two options through pairwise voting, take a moment to discuss the pros and cons of both options as a group. This conversation helps uncover tacit knowledge and diverse viewpoints that might not emerge through voting alone.

By examining the advantages and disadvantages openly, participants can better understand the implications and potential outcomes of each choice, fostering a more informed and collaborative decision-making process.

Platforms like Noni simplify this process by automatically showing the pairs and enabling discussion before voting.

Step 4: Discuss the Top Results (2 minutes)

Evaluate the top choice and initiate a brief discussion on its benefits and trade-offs. Encourage input from everyone to ensure all perspectives are considered, and assess how it aligns with the criteria established at the outset.

Noni‘s real-time input feature supports structured discussions and encourages open dialogue, even in hybrid or remote setups.

Step 5: Finalize and Document the Decision (1 minutes)

Summarize the selected option(s) and confirm consensus before ending the session. When you run a decision-making session, document the decision and share it with stakeholders for transparency.

Tip: Keep a record of rejected options too—understanding why certain ideas weren’t chosen is critical for future discussions.

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Techniques for Effective Facilitation

Even with the perfect plan, effective facilitation is key to ensuring your session is productive. Here are some tips to keep engagement high and the process smooth.

Be a Neutral Guide

Facilitate without influencing the decision. Focus on asking clarifying questions and ensuring participants stay within the defined framework.

Timebox Discussions

It’s easy to get caught in endless discussions. Timeboxing each step ensures you stay within the 20-minute limit. Use a visible timer to keep everyone mindful of the clock.

Encourage Honest Input

Create a safe space where participants feel comfortable sharing their perspectives. Tools like Noni can anonymize contributions, encouraging honest feedback when discussing sensitive topics.

Visualize the Process

Use visual aids, like a shared screen, to map out decisions, rankings, and outcomes in real-time. Seeing the process unfold keeps participants engaged and prevents misunderstandings. Noni continuously displays the progress of the decision-making process and allows options to be shown.

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Empower Your Team to Run a Decision Making Session and Decide Smarter

Quick, collaborative decision-making is no longer an aspirational goal—it’s an essential skill for modern managers and team leaders.

By using tools like Noni and following structured approaches like the 5-step framework, you’ll not only speed up decision-making but also foster inclusivity and alignment across your team.