How to Make Effective Leadership Decisions

Successful leaders understand that they will have to make difficult decisions. But it takes knowledge and confidence to convince your employees that you, as a leader, are making the right move for the organization.  Check out this expert advice to help you learn how to make effective decisions for your organization.How to Make Decisions More Efficiently. Fast Company: “The art of good decision making requires that you gather input and perspective from your team, and then push toward a final decision in a way that makes it clear that all voices were heard. As I’ve grown in my career, I’ve moved away from telling people I had the right answer upfront to shaping and steering the discussion toward a conclusion. I wouldn’t call it consensus building—you don’t want consensus to hold you hostage—but input from others will help you get to the right decision faster, and with buy-in from the team. This isn’t a vote for rash decisions. I can be a little too ‘pedal to the metal’ at times, and sometimes my co-founder Anna will say, ‘This is a big decision. Even though we think we know what to do, let’s give it 24 hours.’ She’s saved us multiple times with that wisdom.”How Smart Leaders Arrive at Dumb Decisions. The Huffington Post: “When faced with new situations, leaders sometimes inadvertently shortcut their decision-making skills by shoving the issue into the same category as previous problems. But they have faulty memories. The situation isn't the same. Eastman Kodak comes to mind. When faced with photography moving to the digital world, their leadership team at Kodak refused to believe it really was a new technology -- that the industry really would change so dramatically. They thought they'd lick the competition like they had so many other times before. Some leaders continue to think every new challenge is simply a new version of an old challenge they've overcome. Result: The problem swallows them -- and sometimes their entire organization -- before they realize it.”Improve the Speed and Accuracy of Decision Making. Initiative One: “Faster decisions begin within. Nothing reduces friction like taking care of internal preparation ahead of time. You cannot speed up the process if you have not established the basis for your decisions in advance. The values that define your life and leadership must be readily accessible. Too often decision making bogs down because of an inordinate focus on what is unknown. Ambiguity can escalate stress. Instead of allowing stressors on the outside to determine your pace, begin every decision with what is known. Do you know who you are? Do you know what you value? Do you know where you are going? You will arrive at ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ much more quickly if you work from the inside out.”6 Steps to Improve Your Decision Making. Young Presidents’ Organization: “Working hard and executing well are a given, but significant value creation early in the life of a business often comes down to handling a few critical decisions well. Though seemingly risky at the time, the right choices often result from a calculation with a high risk-adjusted net present value (i.e., the risk was worth the potential gain)....Formulate potential solutions to a problem considering all of the available arrows in the quiver. Assets and tactics not seen by most people are often seen by the entrepreneur. The same approach will not work consistently in all situations. So many of my friends who run companies have turned a bad situation into a win by having been successful with a backup plan. Even after the most cleverly chosen path is pursued, things may not go your way.”Think About How You Can Influence Decisions. Steve on Leadership: “When people face a decision or choice each is affected by his/her own personal motivations. Not everyone feels the same way about the elements of a decision. One person might want to make a fast decision so they can get it off their task list while another person does not even think the decision is important and kicks the can down the road. Leaders can create systems that make decisions happen regardless of one’s motivation. One example given was the invention of automatic retirement plan enrollment for employees. This method, used by many organizations including my company, enrolls everyone unless they opt-out. Since many employees are not motivated to read and understand the paperwork necessary to set-up a retirement account, they just procrastinate and make no decision or choice.”Need help teaching your company’s leaders to make better decisions? Contact us for information on leadership development and coaching.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.