Fist-of-Five Decision-Making
 | (5) Full support (endorsed by member with no concerns) |
 | (4) Agreement (endorsed by member with minor concerns) |
 | (3) Reservations, but can live with it (endorsed with reservations/caveats) |
 | (2) Don’t like it, won’t block it (endorsed but the member registers their disagreement, though they will support the group’s decision) |
 | (1) Cannot support it (member does not endorse) |
Images by Laura Reeny from the Noun Project
Fist-of-five decision-making requires members to vote along the fist-of-five scale (above). An initial fist-of-five may be taken early in a discussion, to help identify members with reservations; typically, those members voting three or below are given the floor to discuss their concerns and the group/team will see if any amendments can help address those concerns. If a member votes (1) in the scale, they are blocking the group/team from endorsing the item. This method is typically used for decision items that involve significant discussion and endorsement from all team/members, such as a policy or standardization decision; through synthesis and discussion of ideas and issues, common ground (though not necessarily unanimity) is established.
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