Leaders Make Great Decisions

One of the most important jobs of a leader is that of making complex decisions. Making good decisions is an attribute of a leader that is under appreciated by many who study leadership. Researchers have been marginally successful in understanding how people form the ability to make good decisions. Some research has developed complex models for understanding decision-making processes, but they have yet to map the decision- making process in such a way that those looking to develop the skill of making good decisions can learn this process. The reason is that good decisions are unique and vary for every circumstance. In all situations, there are hundreds of thousands of variables that impact whether or not a leader uses good discretion to make a good decision. How a leader interprets these variables, and the weight the leader assigns to each variable when making a decision, is 90% a subconscious process. Because this process is so subconscious, developing the attribute of using good discretion is often dismissed as innate talent and not learned behavior.

A great ecclesiastical leader has been quoted as saying “we are a walking bundle of habits.” The behaviors that we observe in our lives from those who are closest to us in our formative years, have the most impact on the behavior habits we form.  There is mounting research to show that we develop the ability to make good decisions early on in life. The bad news is that for those looking to develop the skill of making good decisions later in life, the cards are stacked against them. This is not to say that one can’t develop this skill later in life, but it does mean that the most important period of our lives for developing the skills to make good decisions is when we are young.

If you are older in years and looking to develop this skill, the first place to start is by developing a keen understanding of yourself. Be clear about who you are, your beliefs, your values, your purpose, your focus, etc.

Over the past three years, I have observed many people who have been looking to acquire leadership skills, and many who are teaching leadership skills. I have noticed a trend in those who possess the ability to make good decisions. The best decision-makers, who are subsequently the best leaders, are those who know themselves. As the first commandment of leadership goes: “know thy self and be true to your core.” Once you have defined your core, have the mental fortitude to remain true to it.

Finding your core and staying true to it is the foundation to all great decisions. Great leaders make great decisions, one decision at a time.

Posted by Daren Blonski

Comments

[Mike Myatt]

I wholeheartedly concur with your assessment of the critical role that decisioning plays in the world of leaders. You might be interested in reading a post on decisioning that I authored sometime back which shares some additional thoughts on the topic at hand. It can be viewed at: http://www.n2growth.com/blog/?p=142

[Guy Harris]

I really like your comment on great leaders knowing themselves. I agree with your assessment that self-knowledge is a pre-requisite for good decisions. This thought aligns well with what Daniel Goleman commented on in Primal Leadership as he discussed the importance of emotional intelligence. Good post.

BTW - I found you through a link on Kevin Eikeberry's blog. He's a friend and colleague of mine. I thought I would check out the top 10 finalists. I like what I see.

[Guy Harris]

I really like your comment on great leaders knowing themselves. I agree with your assessment that self-knowledge is a pre-requisite for good decisions. This thought aligns well with what Daniel Goleman commented on in Primal Leadership as he discussed the importance of emotional intelligence. Good post.

BTW - I found you through a link on Kevin Eikeberry's blog. He's a friend and colleague of mine. I thought I would check out the top 10 finalists. I like what I see.

[Gary Cohen]

Leaders must ask the question first, "Who's decision is it?" Often I find that exceptional leaders will do everything they can to answer this question with, "Theirs".
If the leader make the decision they reduce there effort to build leadership and accountability within their own team. There is certainly an important role in decision making for leaders - it just seems too important a role in building muscle strength on the team by making too many of them by the leader. Additionally, if one does weigh in with a decision, it would be critically important that the team was involved because the best decision in the world without buy in from the troops is likely to fail. Thoughts?

[Umesh Ramakrishnan]

I read this posting with interest. As someone who meets with many CEOs every week, I'm always trying to guage the decision making capability of each of those leaders. There are clearly two kinds of decision makers - ones that go with their gut and others who pore through data quickly and make an analytical decision. The ones that are the most effective are ones that use both methods simultaneously. Staying completely on one side of that spectrum makes one a leader that could risk the business while the other end of the spectrum leads to paralysis through analysis.

[Aaron Sandoski]

Your posting hit home with me. I have spent the last four years researching how wise leaders make tough decisions. The result of which is coming out in September and called How The Wise Decide (Crown Business). What my co-author and I found is that great decision-making extends far beyond analytcal skills or a refined gut instinct. It stems from six universal principles of source information, debate with candor, overcoming loss aversion, vision, purposeful listening, and transparency. Decision-making is the cornerstone of leadership, too bad it goes neglected in most leadership training.