Ideas That Work: Empower Staff to Act With the ‘Decision Distiller’ Matrix

Practical pearls from your colleagues

Six questions should be enough for any member of your staff to OK important decisions and get critical initiatives rolling. That’s the idea behind the “Decision Distiller” (DD) matrix on which Raleigh, N.C.-based Capital City Surgery Center relies to streamline decision-making and empower its team members to make important calls. The DD, introduced by Derrick M. Schultz, MBA, administrator at Capital City, and based on a spine pain study from France. “I’m a physical therapist by training, and I first saw the concept applied to treatment for lower back pain,” says Mr. Schultz. “When I moved into a leadership position, I realized this clinical-based tool could apply to virtually any workplace situation.” The DD (pictured) is based around two groups of “Yes/No” questions about a prospective decision. The first set of questions ask if the move is:

• Good for our patients?
• Good for our physicians?
• Good for our teams?

No responses to any of those first three questions stop the process, but affirmative answers to all three automatically mean the decision-maker can move on to the second set of questions, which ask if anyone involved in the move would:

• Have any self-interest?
• Have any conflict avoidance? (For instance, would the move be a way for a staff member to avoid working with a difficult physician?)
• Have a basis for convenience?

Yes responses to any of the second set of questions require the issue to be attended to prior to action, but three No responses mean the decision/action going through the DD is worthy to proceed to implementation and future refinement.

Initially, the surgery center used the DD matrix with physicians to fast-track process changes, investments and staffing decisions, Mr. Schultz says, but it has since been made available to anyone in the OR. “Our leadership tells staff to feel comfortable using this process, and we let them know we have their backs and will support them 100%,” he says. “This Decision Distiller empowers staff and allows for good and supported decisions to be made and refined.” OSM