Are you in search of some decision making activities?
When employees make important business decisions, your company prospers.
What if your staff can’t make the right decisions, but your competitors’ employees can?
That’s why it is important to encourage your employees to think critically and instill a culture of accountability throughout your organization.
In this article, let’s see 10 decision making team building activities that you can conduct with your employees.
Why is Decision Making Important in the Workplace?
Today, many businesses prefer a decentralized decision making process. This means that employees make the decisions rather than just relying on the CEO or Board. When employees make correct decisions in the workplace, it helps in the overall growth of your business.
10 Decision Making Activities for Your Employees
Here are 10 group activities to improve the decision making skills of your employees.
#1. The Phonebooth
The Phonebooth activity offers employees the opportunity to creatively solve problems as a group.
Time: 15-20 minutes
Materials: Separate phone booths (can be created with partitions or other materials)
Participants: At least two teams of 4-6 members
Instructions
• Place each team in a separate phone booth.
• They should get a problem or scenario to solve. For example, “How can we increase customer satisfaction?”
• Give each team some time to find a solution. During this period, they must not communicate with the other teams.
• After the time is up, teams can come together and discuss their solutions.
Debrief
- How effectively did your team work together during the activity?
- Which strategies helped your group solve the problem most successfully?
- What would you change in your team’s approach next time?
You can also read: How to Involve Your Employees in Decision Making?
#2. The Shout Out
This is one of the group decision making activities that requires members to collaborate and come to a consensus by shouting out ideas.
Time: You decide
Materials: A whiteboard or flip chart
Participants: 3-10 people in a group
Instructions
• Ask the group to brainstorm solutions to a given problem. For example, the problem can be “How can we reduce waste in our production process?”
• Give each group member a chance to shout out ideas.
• Once all the ideas have been shouted out, each group can choose one solution and come to a consensus.
Debrief
- How well did team members listen to one another during the activity?
- Which ideas shaped the final decision most strongly?
- What guided the group when choosing which suggestions to support?
You can also read: The 10 Best Decision Making Books for Leaders
#3. Desert Survival
The desert survival activity can help employees make quick decisions while boosting communication and collaboration.
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials: A list of items (first aid box, 50 liters of water, dust masks, etc.)
Participants: 3-8 people in a group
Instructions
• Ask the groups to assume they are stranded in a desert.
• Give each group a list of items and ask them to decide which five items they would choose in order to survive.
• Let the group members have a discussion for some time.
• Finally, they must explain which five items they will use and why.
Debrief
- How did your group decide which items mattered most for survival?
- Which viewpoints influenced the final choices the most?
- Where could this decision-making process help in real workplace situations?
You can also read: 10 Delegation Team Building Activities (With Debrief)
#4. Mock Trade Game
This activity helps participants understand the effects of supply and demand on pricing by participating in a mock trade game.
Time: You decide
Materials: Fake “money” and Items to trade like paper clips, pencils, etc.
Participants: Need at least two groups
Instructions
• Divide the participants into two groups. Give each group a list of items and some fake money.
• Ask the groups to negotiate with each other in order to buy and sell the items.
• Set a time limit in which the teams must come up with their own prices, and agree to trades.
• When the time is up, have each team tally their total profits or losses.
Debrief
- How did your group approach pricing and trade decisions during the game?
- Which strategies helped you maximize profits or reduce losses most effectively?
- Where did negotiation have the biggest impact on your final results?
#5. The 2-4-6 Problem
This is an interesting decision making activity that requires employees to formulate solutions by combining individual ideas.
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Two pieces of paper for each participant
Participants: 4-6 people in a team
Instructions
• Give two pieces of paper to each person.
• Instruct them to come up with two solutions to a given problem. The problem can be anything work-related.
• Each person should then present their solutions to the group and explain how they could be combined into one solution.
• The team should discuss each suggested combination until a single solution is reached.
Debrief
- How well did your team combine individual ideas into one solution?
- Which approach helped the group reach the strongest decision?
- What could your team do differently to improve the process next time?
#6. The Resource Scramble
Time: 15-30 minutes
Materials: Various resources (simple items like paper, markers, etc.)
Participants: 3-8 people per group
Instructions
• Provide each team with a problem and a set of resources. For example, you can provide them with a design problem and resources such as paper, markers, glue, and clay.
• Ask them to brainstorm different solutions using the given resources.
• They must then evaluate each solution and decide which one is the best.
Debrief
- How did your team choose the best strategy with the resources provided?
- Which part of your approach worked best, and why?
- What could your team do next time to make the solution more effective or creative?
#7. Ranking Race
This game encourages teams to think critically and come up with a logical ranking system.
Time: 15-30 minutes
Materials: None
Participants: 4-10 people in a group
Instructions
• Divide the employees into small groups. Then, give each group a list of items to rank; for example, movies, restaurants, etc.
• Ask each group to come up with a ranking system for the items on the list. For example, if the list is comprised of five different movies, then each group should assign a score from 1-5 to each movie.
• Give the groups a time limit and ask them to come up with the final rankings.
• Finally, each group should present their ranking system and explain why they chose those rankings.
Debrief
- How did your team decide which items deserved a higher priority?
- Which ranking method helped the group reach agreement most effectively?
- Why could this activity strengthen decision making at work?
#8. The Traffic Light System
This exercise is great for teaching employees the importance of making the right calls in order to meet goals or deadlines.
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials: None
Participants: Any number of people per team
Instructions
• Give each team a goal or deadline they need to meet. For instance, you can ask them to reach a certain sales target within a given timeframe.
• Ask each team which tasks they need to complete in order to reach their goal or deadline.
• Instruct them to evaluate each task and assign a red, yellow, or green traffic light to it. The traffic light should indicate how quickly the task needs to be completed.
• After assigning traffic lights, they can prioritize the tasks that need to be completed first.
Debrief
- How did your team decide which tasks needed immediate attention?
- Which factors shaped the traffic light labels for each task?
- Where could this prioritization method help your team meet workplace goals or deadlines?
#9. The Six Thinking Hats
This decision making game is great for teaching teams how to think critically and come up with creative solutions.
Time: You decide
Materials: Colored paper hats
Participants: 4-10 people in a group
Instructions
• Divide the employees into small groups.
• Explain what each Thinking Hat represents and how it should be used.
White: Facts and information
Red: Emotions and feelings
Black: Critical analysis
Yellow: Benefits and positives
Green: Creativity and alternatives
Blue: Big picture thinking
• Give each group a problem to solve and ask them to assign each person a hat.
• Ask each person to discuss the problem from their assigned perspective.
• Finally, each group should come up with a solution.
Debrief
- How did looking at different perspectives shape your team’s decision?
- Which Thinking Hat had the strongest effect on your discussion, and why?
- What changed in your approach after using the Thinking Hats?
#10. SWOT Analysis
This SWOT analysis activity helps teams discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a given problem or project.
Time: You decide
Materials: Whiteboard or paper
Participants: Any number of people per team
Instructions
• Give each team a problem or project to analyze. For example, a new product launch or an upcoming event.
• Ask them to list the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the project. They can use a whiteboard or paper for this.
• Allow the teams to discuss their ideas before finalizing the SWOT analysis.
• Finally, each team can present their analysis.
Debrief
- How did your team work together while building the SWOT analysis?
- Which insights shaped your final evaluation the most?
- Why could this process lead to better decisions at work?
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Final Words
Making effective decisions is critical for any company. So, you can use the above decision making team building activities for sharpening your employees’ problem solving skills and improving their ability to think critically.
FAQ: Decision Making Team Building Activities
You might have these questions in mind.
What is the purpose of decision making team building activities?
The purpose of decision making team building activities is to help teams think critically, solve problems, and make better decisions. By taking part in these activities, they can learn how to think creatively while tackling a project and understand the importance of using data and evidence when making decisions.
What are some good decision making activities for adults?
Some good decision making activities for adults are Desert Survival, SWOT Analysis, and The Six Thinking Hats. These exercises help teams to develop their problem solving skills while also fostering collaboration among their members.
How do you use teamwork to make decisions?
Teamwork is essential when it comes to making decisions. It invites more diverse perspectives, resulting in more effective solutions. Some ways to use teamwork for making decisions include brainstorming ideas, delegating tasks, and discussing possible solutions.
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