Making Decisions without Drama: The Daring Decision Tree
How do you approach decision-making with a group of people in a way that is clear and drama-free?
If you work with teams or lead collaborative projects, you’ve likely experienced how frustrating decision-making can get — especially when it’s unclear who has the final say. Without clarity, multiple people may try to weigh in or take charge, leading to confusion and conflict.
So Many Tools!
There are many frameworks out there — RACI (or ARCI), DACI, and others.
Each offers ways to define roles in a decision-making process.
There’s also RAPID®, which is one of the clearest models I’ve seen. Still, it has some challenges: the acronym is out of order, and it leaves out one important group — the people who need to be informed.
Which made me wonder… is there an easier, sequential way to clarify decision-making roles?
Collaborative: One that considers all people on a team or organization who need to be part of the process?
Comprehensive: One that covers the decision-making process to implementation?
Classy: One that is visual, clear, and beautiful? (Since my background is graphic design, attractiveness in visuals is important to me!)
Introducing: The DARING Model
As a strategist who builds road maps and visuals for leaders to understand and communicate with their teams easily, I couldn’t find one, so I made one!
Let me introduce you to an alternative: DARING.
DARING builds on the best of existing tools and arranges them in a logical, visual structure — like a tree.
The Top of the Tree: Decision Makers
At the top are those who make the decision. There are two types:
Decide – A single person holds final authority and can make the call. This person has veto power and owns the outcome.
Agree – A group makes the decision together through consensus or discernment. No one individual decides; the decision belongs to the group.
The Trunk: Key Influencers
Just below the decision makers are the influencers—those whose input is critical to shaping the decision.
Recommend – This group actively advises the decision makers. These are key stakeholders whose input should not be overlooked.
Input – This broader group offers feedback or expertise but isn’t necessarily consulted unless requested.
The Roots: Action and Communication
At the base of the tree are those who support implementation and communication after the decision is made.
Notify – These are individuals or groups who need to be informed of the decision, even if they weren’t involved in making it.
Go – These are the people who carry out the decision. They move the action forward.
Putting It All Together
This tree provides an at-a-glance overview for all stakeholders involved in decision-making:
The top of the tree (Decide/Agree) contains the decision makers.
The trunk (Recommend/Input) includes influencers.
The roots (Notify/Go) support follow-through.
All together, these roles make up the acronym DARING.
When used well, DARING clarifies influence, decision-making, and follow-up — so your team knows exactly who does what, and when.
One idea to consider is to discuss this framework the next time your team needs to make a decision, and see how clear of an understanding your team has of their role.
If the discussion goes easily, great — you have done a good job clarifying roles with your team.
And if not, this tool can generate discussion that leads to more effective decision-making!
Mired in a Decision-Making Morass?
Struggling to get your team aligned around your vision—and stuck in messy decision-making?
I help leaders turn vision into reality by designing strategies and roadmaps that clarify who decides what, how input is gathered, and how the team moves forward together.
If you’re ready to lead with clarity, alignment, and confident decisions, book a free call and let’s build the path from idea to execution.
This tool was originally posted on AngelaYee.com.
