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nicola19663

Whose decision is it anyway?

As a people professional who has worked with many, many teams it amazes me that so many leaders and teams insufficiently invest in focusing on their decision making. 

 

For many years it’s been one of the key things that I contract on when joining or leading a team and I regularly review it with my own team members both individually and collectively. 

 

Many things can get in the way of this focus; leaders not being open for feedback, a lack of openness leading to things going unsaid, a fear of the consequence of a difficult conversation or just a lack of mindfulness or complacency. 

 

A CEO’s approach to decision making can have a massive impact on an organisation’s culture, effectiveness and ultimately its performance. If you are a founder or leader in a family business the influence and impact can be even greater. 

 

Even the most capable leaders can let their own anxieties, outside pressures or other factors impair their approach to decision making. 

 

I once worked with a leader who had very strong, positive values which massively influenced their decisions. It was one of the things that colleagues in the organisation really valued most about this leader. However, they were prone to dropping down levels and involving themselves in decisions that other leaders in their team were already managing. They were not always upfront about this and so had to work hard manipulating the situation to get the outcome they wanted and smooth things through.  

It was often clear to others in the organisation who could see this happening regularly. They spoke about how they liked and admired the leader in so many ways but just so wished for a different approach from them. 

 

This is not the worst example of leadership I have ever seen but the impact did affect performance. Here’s how: 

 

  • It drove unhelpful behaviors within the organisation 

  • It created unintended conflict and frustration deeper down the organisation 

  • The leader was distracted when they should have been focusing on other business 

  • A lot of time could have been spent more productively elsewhere 

  • Progress often stalled and decisions took way longer than necessary 

  • It left people not knowing where they stood 

  • Ultimately, they lost good people from the team 

 

Now this leader was perfectly entitled to make these decisions - they were ultimately responsible for them and the consequences, both good and bad. They were no doubt working in service of things they truly believed in. 

 

My observations are about how this leader and their team made decisions, the lack of open dialogue and contracting about them and the missed opportunity to fully capitalise on collective strengths. 

 

I’m sure most people don’t need reminding that: 

  • Teams that know one another’s strengths can better collaborate. 

  • Collaboration can promote the speed and quality of decision making that teams make. 

  • Research shows that strengths-based teams have higher engagement, better customer service and higher profitability. 

  • Leaders that are predictable and consistent in their approach to decision making enable their teams to work together more effectively. 

 

What feedback do you get in your organisation? Do your teams say they are satisfied that leaders make well thought out decisions? Are they satisfied with the speed of decision making? 

 

If not, start by putting in place a framework for decision making, make the steps clear, like the example below: 

 

  1. Clarify the decision needed 

  2. Gather information 

  3. Generate options 

  4. Consider the evidence 

  5. Choose among alternatives 

  6. Take action 

  7. Review the decision 

 

Be mindful of biases. Empowering others and being aware of strengths and blind spots can help reduce them. Encourage your team members, based on their strengths, to speed up and improve the decision-making processes. Review regularly with your team how you are making decisions and how effective they are. Ask a facilitator to help if needs be. Identify how you can optimise even further. Learn and continue to review. 

 

When your own team is operating where you want it to be check-in with other teams too. Review together across teams to supercharge your organisations pace and agility. This way you can optimise the time and effectiveness as the baton passes between teams. 

 

The quality of decision making can determine whether you, and possibly your company, succeeds or not so make the time and don’t delay






 

 

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