Sensing Process

When you want to make a decision that will potentially have a big impact on the organization (if you are unsure whether that is the case, feel free to engage an ETG Way Coach), we use a process called Generative Decision Making, or short, GDM.

The first step in the GDM process is also referred to as the Sensing process. The purpose of the Sensing process is to prepare and refine your potential proposal for GDM. It is comprised of five steps:

1. Launch

Announce to the team that a Sensing process is underway and invite the team to participate. In this case, “Team” is the group from which input is being sought. It can be the entire ET Group team or a smaller group. Try to provide as much context as possible and, if applicable, mention any biases you may have coming into the process.

Once notified, team members can choose to:

A: Have input into the Sensing process and participate in the final decision.

B: Have input into the Sensing process and leave decision-making to others.

C: Leave the process to others by willingly accepting whatever decision is made.

2. Discovery

Create opportunities for various perspectives and new ideas to surface. This can be done through one-on-one conversations or meetings, in-person or virtually.

3. Proposal Design

Once you have collected enough perspectives (2-3 are typical), you can draft your proposal.

4. Ratification

We use Generative Decision Making (GDM) to make decisions that originated from a Sensing process. Reach out to an ETG Way Coach to facilitate the GDM process for you. GDMs can be scheduled meetings but we also do asynchronous GDMs via a Teams channel. The ETG Way Coach facilitates the entire process.

5. Implementation

Once a decision is made, you are responsible for communicating it to the full ET Group team and implementing the decision unless other owners have been identified as part of the GDM. The communication includes a summary of the initial problem or opportunity, options considered, the final decision, and a brief rationale.