Page 8 - Leadership Basics 9

Four Ways to Make a Decision

There are basically four ways in which a leader can make a decision, there are:
 Instruct – decide for yourself and then give directions on what you want to have happen [with
no input from anyone else].
 Consult – collect other people views and recognise a difference in perspectives before making
your own decision [no consensus & no agreement].

 Arbitrate – take the decision to someone else to decide the matter [an arbitrator whose opinion
would be accepted by staff]

 Negotiate – collaborate with people to reach an agreement on what to do.

There is no doubt that at different times and in different contexts a leader will have to use all four
ways to implement decisions, including making their own decisions without input from others (for
example in a time of crisis or emergency).
In the following table are some examples of situations in which the leader is asked to make a
decision. Go through this list and note whether you would Instruct, Consult, Arbitrate or Negotiate
each decision.

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