Making Sound Decisions as a Supervisor

A complete 90-minute session that teaches supervisors six practical decision steps, practiced on a realistic decision from naming it to checking it four weeks later.

Who it is for

• Small-business owners who make most decisions themselves and want their supervisors to decide well without them.

• New and experienced supervisors, shift leads and team leads who make calls all day with no clear method.

• Managers who want every supervisor to decide, explain and review decisions the same way.

• Trainers, HR and L&D professionals who need a ready-to-run decision-making session for front-line leaders.

The problem it solves

Supervisors make decisions all day, usually under pressure. Some decide from the last complaint they heard, ask for opinions after the decision is made, consider only their first idea, announce changes in a group message with no reason, and never look at the decision again. This kit gives them six clear steps (name the decision, choose who decides, gather the facts, weigh the options, explain the decision, check and adjust) and lets them practice all six on a realistic case, including explaining it to the people affected and deciding what to do when new information arrives.

What is inside

Six decision steps: Name the decision, Choose who decides, Gather the facts, Weigh the options, Explain the decision, Check and adjust.

In-person kit

• Facilitator guide, 48 pages (Word): how to use the kit, session overview and agenda, a plain-language primer on supervisor decisions, the six steps in depth, when to decide alone, ask for input, decide with the team or pass a decision up, common decision traps, examples for five kinds of workplace, answers to the questions participants ask, a preparation checklist, eight timed segments with SAY / DO / ASK / WAIT cues, the Scenario A script, answer keys, the decision cases at a glance, tricky moments, a 30-day follow-up plan and ways to adapt the session.

• Slide deck, 26 slides (PowerPoint), with speaker notes that repeat the guide's cues and timing.

Virtual kit

• Virtual facilitator guide, 36 pages (Word), with a producer cue sheet, polls, chat prompts and the breakout texts for every case.

• Producer run sheet, 4 pages (Word).

• Virtual slide deck, 27 slides (PowerPoint), with PRODUCER actions in the notes.

Workbook and handouts

• Participant workbook, 21 pages (Word and PDF), including a decision plan, questions to ask your manager about what you may decide alone, and a 30-day decision log.

• One-page job aid: six decision steps (1 page).

• Handout 1: Name the decision, with a worked example and rewrite practice (2 pages).

• Handout 2: Who decides: alone, with input, with the team, or passed up (2 pages).

• Handout 3: Six decision cases with "four weeks later" cards, set in a dental clinic, restaurant, warehouse, clothing store, call center and heating and cooling repair company (3 pages).

• Handout 4: Decision planner, with a filled-in example (2 pages).

• Handout 5: Explaining the decision in four parts, with a worked example (2 pages).

• Handout 6: Decision check: keep, adjust or reverse, with a filled-in example (2 pages).

• Answer key for the facilitator (3 pages).

How to use it

1. Read the facilitator guide and complete the workbook yourself (about three hours).

2. Print the workbook and handouts, and one decision case per table.

3. Run the 90-minute session in person or online. Every step tells you what to do, what to say, what to ask and when to wait.

4. Use the 30-day follow-up plan so the six steps become the way your supervisors decide.

No training experience is needed. If you can run a team meeting, you can run this session.

Formats and file types

• Word (.docx): facilitator guides, producer run sheet, participant workbook. Fully editable.

• PowerPoint (.pptx): in-person and virtual decks with speaker notes. Fully editable.

• PDF: participant workbook, job aid, handouts and answer key, ready to print.

• Fonts: Fraunces and Nunito Sans (free from Google Fonts).

• Licensed for internal use by the purchasing organization.

Frequently asked questions