4 Steps for Leaders to Make the Right Choice

Leaders are made or broken based on the decisions they make - especially the important and visible choices. 

Good decisions propel leaders to the top; bad decisions can wreck an upward path or a promising initiative. The only way to make consistently sound decisions is to use some discipline. Leadership training programs advise that you should never make a decision without applying a well-tested and valid methodology.

1. Determine if a decision is actually needed. Leaders and their teams waste a surprising amount of time discussing unimportant things.  Use only the information that is relevant, discard raw data and ignore often faulty gut instincts. Then ask what would happen if no decision were made.
2. Imagine your decision was published on the front page of the paper.  My father-in-law’s rule still rings true.  Think about how the public would react as well as the stockholders, the employees and even your family.  This one single approach can save your hide and help to create a culture of integrity and customer-centricity.
3. Evaluate the costs and benefits as well as the risks and rewards.  This kind of objective analysis is necessary to be sure that the decision will ultimately be worthwhile from various angles.  Involve people with different agendas to get a well-rounded perspective.
4. Subject the decision to another analysis…is it the right thing to do?  You are putting your character on the line. Be sure your integrity will be fully intact and align with your brand promise, strategy and organizational culture.
5. Just do it.  Make the decision and act before the opportunity disappears.  Action creates learning and momentum.  Do not get stuck in analysis paralysis.