Posts Tagged ‘decision making’

You probably remember your mother teaching you The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Well in this day and age I say “Do unto others as they want, not what I want” .

A great example of this is recognizing the good work of a team member.  You may like the “lime light” and want public recognition yet many people don’t want to be put in the spot light.  Private praise will do just fine for them.

Being certified in Myers Briggs and DiSC, I see leaders using the Golden Rule when they should be determining what their employee prefers.  For instance, I often observe a misalignment between introverts and extroverts.  Extroverted leaders generally don’t like silence, while an introvert is not challenged by silence.  In meetings, I will see an extrovert start peppering an introvert with questions to fill the silence. In turn, this further shuts down the introvert who likes to process in her head, not out loud.

There are plenty of situations during the day and workweek that a leader needs to adjust her leadership to the preference of the employee.  Here are some situations that you should be cognizant to being an adaptive leader:

• Decision Making
• Problem Solving
• Communications
• Conflict Management
• Change Management

So when you are in one of these situations, think about the people you are interfacing with, either through direct leadership or influence outside your organization. What are their preferences? And, how can you adapt your behavior to what they need in order to perform at their very best.  If your organization hasn’t done an assessment like Myers Briggs, this may be a good time. An instrument like Myers Briggs will provide you and your employees with a greater understanding of how each other prefers to operate and communicate.

Or if you aren’t ready for this step, start really observing the behaviors of others and take note of what they are doing in the way of communication, decision making etc and start mirroring them. A good time to start is during one on one meetings with your team members, there is less risk and you can direct all of your attention to one individual. It may feel awkward at first, so take it slowly and choose one area that you would like to adjust for the person you are working with. This should be an area you feel comfortable changing, such as speed of talking.  Ideally it will be one that, when mastered, has an impact on your employees performance.

So the next time you are treating a person like you want to be treated, stop and evaluate, is it what they really want?

Yes, it is a huge disaster and they have yet to find a solution but why has it taken so long? I believe it is lack of leadership. BP is a huge company with billions of dollars of resources and I am sure a huge risk management department and yet they seem to be making up solutions day to day.

As a leader what learnings can you take from their disaster which will make your company stronger and more resilient? How are decisions made in your organization? Can improvements be made to the decision making process that would eliminate the risk of potential disasters to your organization?

Somewhere along the way BP’s decision making and risk management processes failed. If you and your leadership team haven’t already analyzed these areas within your company now is the time.  Don’t wait for a disaster, plan for one, put contingency and multiple back up plans in place and be accountable for both the successes and disasters.

Here are some resources to kick start the process:

http://www.ready.gov/business/_downloads/sampleplan.pdf

http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_disprep_planningguide.pdf

In the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, many of the stories focus on those outliers1 who were successful, often due to circumstances and luck. However, what if you have an outlying preference that holds you back? Unlike the examples of success in the book, many outlying behaviors can be a disadvantage to an individual. Do you have one of these behaviors that if modified, would move you closer to the norm and make you a more effective leader?

Let’s take a look at some Decision Outlier behaviors. We’ve all experienced someone who either makes decisions too quickly or too slowly, and for some of us we actually may have one of these tendencies ourselves.

Some of us are make decisions quickly, while others take a much longer time in the decision-making process. In either case, our personality preferences and past experiences have a strong influence on how we make decisions. If we tend to be an outlier on either side of the traditional bell curve, decision-making can be holding us back from being successful and getting to the next level of leadership. Do you know if you are a decision outlier? And if you are a decision outlier, how is your decision-making style impacting your relationships and job performance?

Slow Decision Outliers

Those who are slow decision-makers often need a lot more data and information than others, before making a decision. Making a decision without all the data creates too much risk for the slow decision outlier. The data they need can come in the form of hard and soft data. Hard data includes metrics, facts, and measurements; whereas soft data incorporates feelings and the impact a decision will have on others. Slow decision-makers, who are driven by how others will feel about the decision, desire and look for a consensus decision-making process. They want to have everyone in agreement before making a decision.

And in the extreme, slow decision outliers can become no decision
outliers, stuck in the decision-making process and often unwilling to make a decision based on fear of change and letting go of what is known and fully understood.

How Does Slow Decision-Making Impact You and Your Performance?

In this rapidly changing world, slow decision-makers can be at a huge disadvantage. New information is coming at them faster than ever before, and without self-imposed time limits opportunities will pass them by, both personally and professionally. If they are working in a team environment, they are probably frustrating their team members who want to move forward with the project.

If you consistently meet the description above, then here are some tips to move out of the outlier range of decision-making.

1. Thoroughly explore all the benefits of making a decision which would create change.
2. Realize that not making a decision brings its own set of risks. Identify the risks of maintaining the status quo.
3. If it is change that is holding you back, what are the impacts to you if you don’t change? Learn to identify what will provide you with an increase in control during the change process or what will help you to maintain control.

Fast Decision Outliers

Fast decision outliers can find themselves making decisions with not enough data. These decision makers don’t like lots of detail and are often driven by the end result. If the decision is about something that doesn’t have a big impact on them, they feel the details just get in their way. While change is not stressful for them, they often are oblivious of the impact that change has to others around them. Fast decision outliers can sometimes be viewed as autocratic if they aren’t willing to listen to others’ ideas and information that would be helpful to the overall decision-making process.

How Does Fast Decision-Making Impact You and Your Performance?

Fast decision makers run a higher risk of making poor decisions with a high impact to both the organization and the people within the organization. Since change is their friend, they may be creating stress for team members who don’t embrace change. As they strive to complete a project, they may shut other team members out of the decision-making process, thereby limiting innovation and creativity.

Here are some tips to slow down the decision-making process:

1. Determine up front all the data needed for a quality decision and get agreement from all team members.
2. Assign the data lovers (i.e. slow decision-makers) to gather the data.
3. Ask more questions of all team members.
4. When asking slow decision makers’ questions, inquire about how they feel regarding the project’s process and progress.

Are You a Decision Outlier? If Yes, What Changes Can You Make to Become a More Effective Leader?

So for those of you who are outliers in your decision-making process, when should you consider adjusting and adapting your decision-making preferences and move into the mainstream? When the decisions being made are having a direct impact on someone’s job, including your own!

As a final test of your decision-making process, ask your friends and family how your own decision-making impacts them. If there is little or no response about being a decision outlier, then you can be confident that you possess an effective decision-making process!