A key component that separates great leaders from merely good ones is the ability to make a decision. It may seem like a simple concept, but I’m betting we’ve all witnessed indecisive leaders in our careers; someone who is incapable of making a decision or delaying an answer on an important topic so long that the point becomes moot.
As a leader, your team members depend on your strong decision-making skills on a daily basis and have expectations that their concerns, ideas or issues will be addressed in a timely fashion. In my work in the law enforcement world, I have seen that such decisions can be life or death and mean that someone may not be going home that night. And in my role as a leadership instructor, my colleagues and I have explored this concept at length in symposiums, as the corporate world does not have this extra burden placed on them. So, leaders and managers alike, here are a few considerations when faced with the difficult decisions we all have to make.
When a team member approaches you with a situation or concern requiring your decision, ensure that you have all relevant facts related to the issue so that you can provide an answer in a timely fashion. If the decision is within your immediate scope of authority, make it. If it is not, explain to your team member that you will have to run the idea up the chain of command but that you will advise them of the outcome when it is received. Provide a timeline in which you will give them your response, and stick to it. If the decision-making process will take a prolonged period of time, clarify this. The bottom line? Do not delay just for the sake of delaying. Be timely, or the team member may go to someone else – or even worse, never ask again.
Decisions always affect other areas, especially if there are controversial decisions. Several of the considerations to assess are: Will this create new negative policy? Will I end up on the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper? Will I inadvertently throw my president under the bus? Will this result in someone being terminated (literally or figuratively)? These are important factors to assess when making a strong decision, but have to be within your decision making matrix as a leader. Frequently, you will not be afforded the opportunity to assess all of them in a timely fashion, but they need to be considered and weighed against your moral and ethical barometer.
“You’ve made a bad decision.” These are words that will strike trepidation within you, but are inevitable in your leadership role. Strong leaders know that the worst thing to do is to blame someone else for your decision. It should be irrelevant that your decision may have been based on some else’s knowledge or ideas. You made the decision. Always accept responsibility, rationalize your thinking to your boss and or team and apologize, if your decision necessitates an apology. If there is fallout as a result of your decision, clearly explain it to your team members and immediately map out corrective measures that are transparent to everyone involved. Taking ownership of your decision builds your credibility not only within your team for the future but demonstrates the right thing that leaders should do.
Decision making can be a very slippery slope, making a seemingly pleasant day into a day that will have an impact on your company for years to come. Decisions may be trivial or life changing, but are always vital to being a successful leader. Acquiescence kills morale and can potentially lose team members. Be clear, be decisive and provide the best leadership based on the above factors and you will generally make the right decision. We can’t and won’t always make the right decision, but we at least need to arm ourselves with the right tools to put the odds in our favour.
Lead every day, and lead well.
Cam Kowalski is a career security professional who was in charge of aviation security control planning for both the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the G8 and G20 summits for the RCMP. He is also president of Jetstream Management Group, a Vancouver-based leadership development and project management consulting company. Follow Cam on Twitter @jetstreamteam
