1.5 Explain how to enable others to contribute to decision-making

This guide will help you answer 1.5 Explain how to enable others to contribute to decision-making.

In adult care, involving others in decision-making leads to better outcomes. People using services, staff, families, and professionals all offer valuable perspectives. Good leaders actively support everyone’s participation. This helps ensure decisions are inclusive, person-centred, and more likely to be followed in practice.

In this guide, we cover some of the practical ways to enable others to have a real voice in decision-making.

Encouraging Open Communication

Making everyone feel safe to speak up starts with open communication. Leaders must create an atmosphere where ideas and concerns are welcomed.

Ways to do this include:

• Regular team meetings where all staff can raise issues or suggestions
• Creating anonymous suggestion boxes for those less comfortable speaking out
• Welcoming feedback in daily conversations, not only at formal times

A calm and respectful environment helps people trust that their input matters.

Involving People Who Use Services

People receiving care must be at the centre of decisions about their life. Leaders enable participation by:

• Asking about preferences during care planning
• Involving individuals in their own reviews and goal setting
• Giving choices for daily routines, activities, and menus
• Using accessible communication methods, such as pictures, signs, or simple language

For people with communication needs, tools such as Talking Mats or support from advocates can help. Leaders should check understanding and give time for people to express themselves.

Supporting Staff to Contribute

Staff are more likely to participate if they feel valued and listened to.

Leaders can support this by:

• Encouraging staff to share their observations in handovers
• Giving clear information about problems and seeking ideas for solutions
• Rotating meeting chairs so everyone has a turn leading discussions
• Setting up small working groups focused on areas needing improvement, such as infection control or activities
• Providing training on communication and confidence skills

Leaders must act on staff contributions—feeding back on what has been taken forward, or sharing reasons if suggestions aren’t possible.

Involving Families, Carers and Advocates

Relatives and carers often know the person well and can help with decisions. Leaders support family involvement by:

• Communicating with families before reviews or changes
• Arranging meetings or phone calls to gather family views
• Inviting carers to care plan reviews, with the individual’s consent
• Giving written updates and asking for comments or concerns

Where people lack capacity to decide, advocates help represent their interests. Leaders can arrange this and support the advocate’s involvement.

Using Accessible Information

People cannot contribute to decisions if they don’t understand the options. Leaders:

• Give information in plain English, avoiding jargon
• Use pictures, videos, or other visual aids for clarity
• Translate materials where needed
• Allow time to process and ask questions
• Check understanding by asking people to describe their choice in their own words

Making information accessible supports genuine involvement.

Creating a Culture of Participation

Leaders set the tone and expectations. Promoting a participation culture means:

• Publicly valuing all contributions
• Recognising and rewarding staff who involve people in decisions
• Training everyone on the importance of shared decision-making
• Including participation goals in supervision and appraisals
• Putting policies in place that require involvement at every stage

Participation should be seen as a routine part of work, not an extra task.

Using Structured Tools and Approaches

Some decision-making processes benefit from specific tools, such as:

• Team-based problem-solving methods (for example, Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle)
• Voting or ranking choices during team meetings
• Best interest meetings for people lacking capacity
• Care circles or family group conferences

Structured approaches ensure everyone’s contribution is considered.

Overcoming Barriers

Not everyone finds it easy to speak up. Barriers include confidence, language, disability, hierarchy, or past experiences of being ignored.

Leaders help by:

• Actively inviting quieter people to share views
• Offering additional support or interpreters
• Setting ground rules for respect in meetings
• Building trust over time
• Following up one-to-one with those who don’t want to speak in groups

Regularly checking that everyone feels able to participate is important.

Valuing and Acting on Contributions

The process does not end with listening. Leaders need to:

• Acknowledge all contributions
• Explain how input was used in the final decision
• Share reasons if suggestions cannot be acted on
• Celebrate positive results from shared decisions

This feedback loop keeps people motivated to contribute in the future.

Reflecting and Improving

Leaders should review how well participation is working.

• Seek feedback from staff and people who use services about their involvement
• Review meeting records and action plans for evidence of contributions
• Use supervision and appraisal to discuss leadership approaches to inclusion

This helps strengthen future involvement and embed it in day-to-day practice.

Final Thoughts

Enabling others to contribute to decision-making is a key leadership skill in adult care. Leaders do this by fostering open communication, making information accessible, supporting meaningful involvement from people who use services, staff, families, and advocates, and overcoming barriers to participation. Acting on input and feeding back results builds trust and leads to better, more person-centred decisions and improved service quality.