DECIDEDLY BETTER

Helping executive teams make decisions they can stand behind

When the stakes are high and the pace is fast, even experienced leaders can fall into decision-making traps, such as too much information, too little structure, unclear responsibilities, or assumptions that go unchecked. The result? Delays, rework, or decisions that miss the mark.

Decidedly Better is a practical, psychology-informed program that gives executive teams the structure, tools, and shared language to make smart decisions with confidence. It’s about lifting the quality of decision-making by design, rather than relying on experience or instinct.

Delivered through two in-person half-day workshops, plus targeted work before, between and after the sessions, this program helps executive teams align on how decisions are made and equips them with tools that are not only practical, but build shared confidence in the process, the outcomes, and the ability to clearly and defensibly explain the rationale behind each decision.

    Decidedly Better includes:

    Prework

    Short check-ins with selected executive leaders (and optionally, those who frequently prepare or present decision papers) to:

    • Understand current decision-making challenges and strengths

    • Identify where clarity, speed or confidence are being lost

    • Surface opportunities for improvement

    These insights ensure the sessions are relevant, targeted, and grounded in your organisation’s real-world pressures.

    Workshop 1 (Sharpening executive decision making)

    This foundational session helps the executive team:

    • Define what ‘a good decision’ looks like for your context

    • Map key decision types (strategic, operational, delegated)

    • Clarify roles, responsibilities, and escalation pathways

    • Identify current friction points in how decisions are scoped, assessed, and shared

    Expect: Real talk, practical mapping, and a refreshed understanding of how to lift decision-making quality across the team.

    Between workshops

    Using insights from Workshop 1, we co-develop:

    • A tailored strategic decision assessment tool designed for your environment

    • Clear guidance on how to scope decisions, test assumptions, weigh options, and present a defensible rationale

    • A practical structure that helps your team communicate with clarity, reduce ambiguity, and anticipate governance expectations

    Workshop 2 (Testing and embedding better decision tools)

    This hands-on session supports the team to:

    • Review and refine the draft decision assessment tool

    • Apply structured techniques to real or recent decisions

    • Strengthen clarity, consistency, and defensibility of decision-making

    • Build confidence in how decisions are prepared, challenged, and progressed

    Expect: Practical application, engaging discussion, and a working tool your team will use, not shelf. 

    Postwork

    After the workshops, we provide:

    • Support to fine-tune the tool based on early use and team feedback
    • Optional coaching or review check-ins to help embed the approach
    • A one-page summary or decision checklist to keep the process simple, repeatable and transparent

    MEETING IN THE MIDDLE

    How executive teams and boards can work together to make excellent decisions

    Meeting in the Middle is a short yet comprehensive program that enables:

    • a Board to clearly define and articulate what information they need from their Executive Team, and
    • the Executive Team to deliver the quality and quantity of information required by the Board on a consistent basis.

    What Meeting in the Middle includes:

    Prework

    Prior to the first workshop, Samantha will review the previous board pack and meeting minutes.

    Workshop 1 (Board Members)

    This half day in person workshop, which can be tacked on to a board planning day or retreat covers the following:

    • A review of where the organisation is currently at, and where the board wants the organisation to be, through retrospective data collection,
    • Feedback on robust and transparent decision making within the organisation, as per the prework review, and
    • An exploration into the expectations of the board, as they relate to different types of decisions i.e. financial, ethical or strategic.

    Workshop 2 (Executive Team)

    This half day in person workshop with the executive team will cover:

    • Education on how the board likes to operate and make decisions,
    • Facilitated problem solving, to improve communication with the board, meeting expectations as they relate to different types of decisions, and
    • Support to improve the board pack and/or other documents to ensure they provide information at the right quality and quantity to inform the board sufficiently, and thus expedite decision making.

    Postwork

    Following Workshop 2, the executive team will update their sections of the board pack and any relevant documentation. Samantha will then provide coaching on the tweaked pack before it is submitted to the board for round 1 reviews.