Good, bad or no decision – what’s worst?

Todays’ article is inspired by a friend of mine, Jay, and what he shared with me about leadership. Jay is a senior technology leader at the US Senate. He considers his ability to make a decision about pretty much anything and in any situation one of his leadership strengths (and having known him for years, I can attest that he’s absolutely right with this self-perception).

Behind Jay’s approach to decision-making is a view of the outcomes that is shared among great leaders. In fact, there’s a big difference between how average leaders approach decision-making and how great leaders approach it. Average leaders view the risk of a bad decision as worse than not having made a decision. For a great leader it’s the other way around: for them, no decision is worse than the risk of a bad decision.

The difference comes from what they include in their consideration of the outcomes. 

(Heads-up, I’m aware that the following description has exceptions. Take it as an 80% principle)

Average leaders look at the possible outcomes and try to weigh them against each other. They realize that there are benefits to making a good decision, and there are downsides to making a poor decision. They want to make sure they get it right. They try to figure out what other information might be needed to come to the right decision. They are ready to wait until the additional information becomes available. But no matter how much is known, there is almost always additional information that might be useful.  And waiting until everything is known is a sure way to paralysis.

Average leaders overlook (or underestimate) the benefit of being fast and agile. They also overlook the impact their hesitation has on team morale and the organizational culture. They also underestimate the impact it has on them, which is to become more and more risk-averse.

Great leaders, on the other hand, are aware of how precious time and velocity are. They are also aware that decisiveness is one of the characteristics that made them a leader. They know that it’s usually easier to recover from a bad decision than to compensate for stalling and not making a decision. They also know that they will never have all the information that might be helpful in decision-making. 

The average leader is afraid of making a bad decision – the great leader is afraid of the stagnation that comes from not making a decision.

As I mentioned before, there are exceptions where a poor decision has such a bad outcome that we wish we hadn’t made the decision. These outcomes usually feel more painful to us than the instances where others waited for our decision and got frustrated that they couldn’t move on.

Take the next step

Next time you hesitate in making a decision, be clear about the ‘cost’ of waiting. Accept early on the fact that you will never have all the information you’d like to have. Consider the effect that your decision making has on others and on you. 

Aristotle summed it up nicely: “…the virtues we get by first exercising them. We become brave by doing brave acts”. Which virtue are you practicing in your decision-making?

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