Week 12 — Decision-Making Frameworks

Unit 3: Lead Teams & Projects • Domain III
Essential Question: How do good teams decide — especially when they disagree?
Key Performance: Decision Matrix applied to a real team choice for the capstone.

Day 1 — How Most Teams Actually Decide

Objective: SWBAT identify the (usually invisible) default decision style of a group.
Do-Now (5): "Last group I was in — who decided, and how did I know?" • Circle (5): Single word. • Mini-Lesson (10): 5 styles: autocratic, consultative, voting, consensus, consent. Each has trade-offs. • Practice (25): Card sort scenarios → match style. Debate. • Close (5): "My team should default to ___ for ___ kinds of decisions."

Day 2 — Decision Matrix

Objective: SWBAT build a weighted decision matrix.
Do-Now (5): "Pick a hard choice you face. Name 3 criteria you'd judge it by." • Circle (5): Roses/thorns. • Mini-Lesson (10): Matrix mechanics — options × criteria × weight = score. • Practice (25): Teams build matrix for a real capstone choice (e.g., partner A vs B; deliverable X vs Y). • Close (5): Score and notice — does the math match your gut? Investigate the gap.

Day 3 — The Pre-Mortem

Objective: SWBAT run a pre-mortem on a proposed decision.
Do-Now (5): "Imagine our capstone fails. What killed it?" • Circle (5): Check-in. • Mini-Lesson (10): Pre-mortem protocol — assume failure, work backwards. • Practice (25): Teams pre-mortem the option that won yesterday's matrix; build mitigation plan. • Close (5): "The biggest risk I now see is ___."

Day 4 — Disagree & Commit

Objective: SWBAT distinguish dissent from disagreement, and practice "disagree and commit."
Do-Now (5): "A time I went along with a decision I didn't believe in. What happened?" • Circle (5): Brave check-in. • Mini-Lesson (10): Disagree-and-commit norm — voice fully, then row together. • Practice (25): Teams revisit decision; each member states their honest position (1-5 fist-to-five); if anyone's below 3, run dialogue. • Close (5): Final commit, recorded.

Day 5 — Friday Circle: Decisions and Trust

Do-Now (5): Reflect on team trust this week. • Circle (25): Friday Circle + round: "Something I'm trusting my team with." • Practice (15): Portfolio: decision matrix + pre-mortem + signed commitment. • Close (5): Leader of the Week.

Assessment

4-pt rubric: Matrix quality • Pre-mortem depth • Honest voicing in disagree-and-commit • Final commitment clarity.

Differentiation

Foundational — provide pre-filled matrix template; stretch — students propose their own criteria weighting.

Sub Plan

Day 1 card sort works as a sub day.

Stretch & Swap

Invite a city council member to share a real decision they faced and how they decided.