Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-270) and index.

pt. 1. Leading the decision process. The leadership challenge ; Deciding how to decide -- pt. 2. Managing conflict. An absence of candor ; Stimulating the clash of ideas ; Keeping conflict constructive -- pt. 3. Building consensus. The dynamics of indecision ; Fair and legitimate process ; Reaching closure -- pt. 4. A new breed of take-charge leader. Leading with restraint. Leaders hear 'yes' far too often. They don't hear bad news until it's too late. They think they've achieved consensus, then find their decisions undermined by colleagues who never really bought in. They become isolated: even high-risk or illegal actions can go unquestioned. It's an enormous problem--for leaders, for teams, for the entire organization--but it's not inevitable. Harvard Business professor Roberto shows how to stimulate honest, constructive dissent and skepticism, use it to improve decisions, and then align the entire organization to support those decisions. He offers new insights into managing teams, mitigating risk, even promoting ethics through effective governance. Drawing on his extensive research on decision-making, he shows how to probe the members of the team, discover when 'yes' means 'yes' and when it doesn't, and build real consensus that leads to action.--From publisher description.