Leadership development should help leaders learn to make good decisions
How many senior leaders have you encountered who just can’t seem to make a good decision? Some of them can’t seem to decide at all. They’re always calling for more data and deliberation. Others shoot from the hip, making decision after decision with very little thought. Then there are the ones I call “windshield wipers.” They decide one way, then reverse themselves. Then back. And forth.
Decision making should be one of the most important parts of leadership development, but it’s rarely taught as a skill. It’s often absent from coaching discussions which focus more on communication and human factors issues.
If you want people to learn to make good decisions, you have to teach it as a skill and you have to start early. Here are some suggestions about helping your developing leaders learn to make better decisions.
Select and promote deciders
Not everyone is willing to make decisions. Don’t waste precious leadership development resources on them. We can teach men and women how to make better decisions but we can’t teach them to be willing to decide.
Training can provide the basics
We can teach the basics of decision making in a number of standard ways. We can teach the basics of issue identification and analysis. We can provide decision making tools, like mnemonic devices, checklists, and standard ways of communicating decisions. But this is all head work.
Real-world decisions
In the real world of business there are powerful emotional and time pressures working on the decision maker. There are consequences, sometimes career-making or breaking consequences, for every decision.
Turn them loose and coach them
That’s why headwork is not enough. You’ve got to turn your young leaders loose to make decisions and learn from them so they will develop into senior leaders who make good decisions. Provide coaching and discussion options that will help leaders learn to make better decisions.
Just one more thing
If you turn leaders loose to make decisions, they will make some bad ones. Get over it. People who make good decisions usually learned the craft by making a few bad ones.
