“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte

You hold decision-making power at some level if you’re a leader in your organization. And, as a leader, people will look to you to help make decisions. But what if you’re struggling with a decision? How do you help someone else?

Several years ago, I was leading a local organization. I was approached with the idea of moving to a new location. After years of meeting in the same place, it would require a major effort and disrupt many lives. After some reflection, I knew we had to make a move, but where and how was a big question. I began to ask myself, ‘how will I make this decision in a purposeful way to give the organization an opportunity to grow and flourish more fully?’

Decisions, Decisions

There will always be tough decisions. My desire here is to help you make tough decisions and do what it takes to improve performance or reach your organizational goals. And, to help others make their own decisions.

There is no perfect way to make a decision but I can offer tools to help clear the fog. Think about your own upcoming decisions with these thoughts in mind. They will help you take your eyes off of yourself and your own interests and put it on the organization or project you’re working on. They will bring you back to the foundation of what you’re trying to achieve and why.

4 Questions to Move Forward

  1. How will you make the decision? What factors will make the most difference to you or your organization? This will cause you to clarify what’s really important.
  2. What do you need to know to make a great decision? What pieces of information are missing? Where will you find them? Who do you need to get involved?
  3. What would a great decision look like? Imagine, after the decision is made and implemented, what does it look like? Think about all aspects, from progress and results to the people involved.
  4. What are the options? No more than two or three; more options will just cloud your thinking process and overwhelm you. Your decision may suffer if you have too many options. This is a time to ask your team for their input too.

Business is filled with decision making every day. Whether it is about projects or people it can be difficult to know which way to go. You’ll never have 100% clarity, there will always be some unknowns, but you need to move forward in spite of it.

When evaluating options, I tend to slow down and listen to people and look at the circumstances – this helps confirm if I’m making the right decision at the right time.

Test your decision. Consider the impact and evaluate if it is right for the organization and your group or department. When my team and I finally decided where to relocate the organization I knew it was the right decision and the right time. We could see the potential for ongoing growth and progress. Was it out of the comfort zone for me and the team? Definitely. But it was necessary for the long-term goals. We couldn’t stay where we were, we needed to move on.

Decision Made, Now What?

Once you have all the information you need, make the decision and put it into action. Take responsibility for any follow-up decisions that need to be made.

Often, a tough decision requires you to become uncomfortable. Personal and organizational growth or change happens because you’re willing to go beyond what is comfortable. It requires you to depend on your team to a greater degree. Step out with conviction and confidence. If you’ve had a thoughtful decision-making process, trust the decision and your people.

Make sure to communicate with clarity what the decision is and the details around it. If you aren’t fully communicating the decision, it’s as if it wasn’t really made. People won’t know what’s expected.

Communicate with passion and compassion. Help your team understand why this decision is needed and the vision for what it will bring. Communicating what will happen and how it will play out is critical to help the team to step behind the decision and move with you. People need to know why, what and how. Also, give specifics about the people that will be involved in implementing the action plan and the timing or any deadlines.

Take it forward

Remember, there will always be gains and losses with any tough decision – but inaction is a decision in itself and may be costly too.

What decision do you need to make? What questions do you need to answer?