As a professor of organizational behavior for MBA students, and as an experienced executive coach and problem solver, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the wrong decision can destroy the careers of top leaders in all spheres and disciplines. In this article, I will share with you the secrets of how to make better decisions and what leaders should know.
The Importance of Decision-Making
First, let us define what a decision is. Many believe that a decision is the outcome of deliberation over a particular action, but I define decision-making as the process of deciding how to turn an outcome of an event (whether that outcome is negative or positive) into an opportunity. That is done by taking the correct action to reach and make the final decision.
This decision has to work for the organization’s leadership, shareholders, employees and customers.
Types of Decisions: Certain and Uncertain
While developing an organizational structure, leaders address types of decisions in two categories. There are events that are certain and that they expect to happen, and events that are uncertainLeaders should develop and that leadership is unaware of. For events leadership is aware of, a formal solution (a step-by-step process for decision-making) is developed and implemented when that event happens. Since the organization has a plan for these events, I concentrate on uncertain occurrences — for example, COVID-19.
There are three ways to deal with an uncertain event:
• Hire an outside expert to deal with the event. The expert presents solutions to leadership, and leadership makes a decision.
• The leader calls on their own experience in dealing with such an event, leaning on their intuition and the organization’s values to make a final decision.
• The organization creates an internal group decision-making process, which may lead to a final group decision.
Regardless of the option you choose, there are certain characteristics that leaders of organizations must possess to turn an uncertain event into an effective opportunity. Leaders should develop these abilities in a certain order to make an effective decision:
• First, suspend your judgment: Leaders tend to use their value system to make decisions. Those values may increase or decrease the quality of the decision. I recommend leaders try and suspend their judgment in order to make the best decision possible for that specific challenge. When leaders use their value system to solve something, they are biased by their own belief system. As a result, they deny the feedback of others, which could have led them to a better solution for that specific challenge.
• Think creatively: Creativity means thinking outside the box — thinking differently than the expected norms and behaviors. In uncertain times, I recommend leaders adapt and be creative in their approach to finding a solution. As we discussed above, certain events have planned solutions. When facing an uncertain event, leaders must think outside of what is acceptable within the status quo. To solve the issue, leaders unfreeze the status quo and create new norms and acceptable behaviors, and then freeze it again to create a new, workable status quo.
• Prioritize collaboration: I share with my MBA students and my highly effective achievers executive clients that only losers compete. To serve their organization and its stakeholders, employees and customers, leaders must collaborate. With collaboration, new ideas, resources and commitments are shared. Leaders who collaborate make great decisions because they seek the guidance and experience of others.
• Remember to delegate: In uncertain times, delegation of authority becomes essential. In my more than 20 years of leadership experience, I’ve gathered that leaders who trust others within their organization in turn receive their workforce’s trust and loyalty. This loyalty in uncertain times is a great motivator for staff to achieve. When leaders delegate authority, they free themselves to do other essential tasks.
• Focus on team development: Leaders who help develop their employees and followers are considered inspiring leaders. I recommend that leaders help develop their workforce in preparation for the arrival of uncertain times. A developed and well-trained employee is well-prepared to adapt and move ahead in uncertain times.
• Keep everyone engaged: In uncertain times, employees who don’t understand the role they play will feel less motivated. Leaders must be open communicators and engage authentically with their staff. Any losses incurred while authentically addressing the issue will be compensated later on when employees and customers sync their antennas in harmony, understanding how the uncertain issue was solved.
• Don’t forget to celebrate: The end result matters to leadership. Giving credit and celebrating all those who participated in the decision-making process will help lift their morale and increase their commitment. I recommend leaders authentically celebrate the achievements of their workforce. When leaders invest in the well-being of their workforce, in return, the workforce will invest in uplifting the leadership and the organization.
Decision-making is a mindset and an attitude. How you cultivate your mindset and adjust your attitude will determine the success or failure of your organization.
