As a leaders of organizations we are called to make many decisions. Some of us are comfortable with the process, others are very uncomfortable. Nevertheless, it is part of the role of a leader. The good news is that it can be a learned skill and cultivated overtime. Think about this thought, our life is a summation of many decisions we have to make. Sounds scary, but on the positive side, we should have lots of practice in this matter. Leaders are leaders because they can make decisions quickly, methodically and with the goal of success for the company. They never make decisions for a selfish reason or for their own advantage, since great leaders are called to lead others or a company. Due to the fact that you have staff turning to you for guidance, your decisions process is greater than just looking at your ego. It’s a decision on what’s best for all or the majority. Business leaders know their decision has a major impact on the organization and ultimately the people that work there. In many ways leaders are the ‘unsung” heroes.
If an organizations is to be successful, decisions must be made. Take a moment to think about if no decisions were made: nothing happens, no growth, lost opportunities and most importantly the employees will lose the vision of where this company is going. Decisions bring vibrancy, new growth and opportunities for the company. A company hires leaders that can make consistent decisions. They don’t hire leaders that are afraid to make decisions because this will hold them back from growing.
Let’s address the fact that we all have made our share of bad decisions and we wished we could go back and make corrections. Unfortunately, we don’t have a sixth sense called ‘hindsight.” Instead we will develop tools to aid with the decision process. Since you’re invested in making the best possible decision for your employer and your staff, you will use an analytical, methodical, line of objective reasoning and eliminate any emotional or biased influences that might alter or compromise that decision. This last sentence may sound daunting, but this will be like a puzzle. You will add each piece of the process as you organize yourself to make a decisions. You may even modify over time these steps. Eventually, these steps will be automatic in your thought process.
Let’s discuss possible steps that you may add to your process of making decisions:
- Make a list of the pros and cons. Although this is old school, it still is one of the best ways to review the decision you are about to make. We all make lists of pros an cons daily. Whether in our head or a more formal computer approach. Seeing a list visually help you process in your brain the facts as you see them or know them.
- Analytical Step– The research process. This is an important to step to understand the pros and cons of your decision. Review the goal of this decision and determine if it is possible the goal will be reached. Do your own research on the matter you are about to decide upon. Review the pros and the cons list. Ask yourself, can you live with the cons in the event the decision does not result in success.
- Methodical process – Once you have the analytics, now you can start the process to look in a methodical process. This can be done either by calling a meeting reviewing your data with other experts or with yourself. Having the ability to brainstorm with other experts opens the lines to review other’s opinions.
- Objective Reasoning – This is the process making a decision without allowing us to be influenced by our personal feelings or personal gain. Always use the “win win” thought process, if the company wins, the employees win.
- Eliminate emotional decision – Our decisions stop being objective when our emotions and biases begin to interfere with our evaluations. By the mere fact that we are humans, our emotions will want to play a role in making decisions. Sometimes emotions will play a positive role with a positive outcome, but is most cases it is best to make a decision without allowing your emotions to take over. An example of a difficult decision is to approve a “lay-off”. We are emotionally attached to the staff we have trained, and the leaders that have to decide on “lay-offs” are often challenged with this. Yet, great measures and analysis has taken place to make this difficult.
Making decisions is a difficult process, making a wise decision is even more difficult. In the positive words spoken by Martin Luther King “Man (and Woman 😊) is man because he is free to operate within the framework of his destiny. He is free to deliberate, to make decisions, and to choose between alternatives.” So we have the advantage of being human.
What is worse than making a bad decision? The answer is Not making a decision is worse. We have heard the story of the young fourth grader who was called to the principal’s office over and over again. The principal was frustrated and exclaimed, “This is the fifth time I have had you in my office this week. What do you have to say for yourself?” Uncertain how he should answer this question, the little boy replied “I’m glad it’s Friday.” I look at this good story in various ways 1) good or bad this boy is making decisions and 2)and he is ready to start a new week, hopefully with better results.
Don’t let the daunting task and duty of your leadership role keep you from making important wise decisions. The ability to make wise decisions is not exclusive to those with high IQ intelligence, nor based on luck or good fortune. More than anything it is about developing the right tools for you to be able to assess, evaluate and decide.
Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash