Everyone brings unique perspective to a team. Each person has learned from successes and failures. There is a spectrum of things that are highly valued and that are strongly avoided and each team member is a different point on that spectrum.
It’s easy to bikeshed decisions. Everyone should feel free to share their ideas if they have something useful and constructive to contribute. High-functioning teams share assets and liabilities, so naturally they should share and discuss ideas.
That said, teams don’t exist for rhetorical indulgence. They exist to get shit done. Teams have to get all the ideas on the floor, decide what is practical, and move on to the next thing.
If there isn’t an outstanding consensus, the tie breaker is simple: the person who ends up doing the work makes the call. That’s not to say they should go cowboy and do whatever they want; they should use their knowledge of the “situation on the ground” to figure out what is most practical. With responsibility comes the right to pick a resolution.
It’s worth repeating: the guy doing the typing makes the decision.
