As a leader, you often stand-alone and must make decisions that will impact many lives. And in the rush of today’s world, there is an expectation that these decisions will be made quickly and correctly. You will be held accountable for these decisions, some of which will shake you to your very core as an individual in reaching that decision. In any such decisions, you should have a reflection point. A time of quiet where you can sit and be able to say to yourself, this is the right decision. But against what benchmark do measure such a decision.
Active Knowledge Question:
What’s the foundation upon which you rest yourself in making decisions, where you can say, this is the right decision?
You Stand-Alone
Making decisions is one role of a leader. I’m not sure that it is the most important role, I think that would be, ‘uplifting others to be, their best’. But decision-making is part of the daily job.
Many decisions are routine and are about keeping things moving forward and on the right track. And then there are some decisions which can be about changing tracks and in some cases stopping things from moving forward anymore.
There will undoubtedly be some decisions in which you will be pulled ‘every which way’ as others seek to influence and ‘guide’ your decision. There will be some who will have clear expectations as to which way your decision should, and must, go. These are moments that may reflect whether you are truly a leader.
Leaders listen, read and reflect, but when it comes to making the decision, they must stand-alone and form their decision on what they believe is right. ‘Right’ of course can be very subjective, and this is where I believe every leader must have a core within themselves that allows them to ‘turn in’, reflect and be able to say, ‘yes, this is the right decision’.
This ‘core’ as I refer to it, allows you to be confident in and stand by your decisions. And in some parts of your life journey as a leader, allows you to say NO, and to step away from a role that insists you make decisions that you know are not ‘right’.
Your Core
Leadership is an expression of who you are as a person and the values that you hold yourself accountable to. It’s not just a job to earn money or build wealth; it’s a responsibility for and to other people. And it is how you view ‘leadership’ that will mould the core within you and determine how you see ‘right’.
Emerging over the years, there have been three elements that have come to comprise my core, and they are Wisdom, Courage and Strength – WCS. These are the attributes that I seek to bring to bear on decisions, and sometimes I do that better than others. But it provides a reflection point which I can step back into to assess the merits of a decision I may be about to make.
I’m not sure exactly where these principles and the language of wisdom, courage and strength have been synthesised from. If I had to pick what was likely the major contributor, then it would be my study of classical Chinese literature on warfare and building empires which formed a foundation of my Ph.D. Worthy leadership was critical to success in all these works of applied philosophy – leadership founded in trust and righteousness.
In building your strength as a leader, it’s important that you have an ‘internal testing kit’ for your decisions. One which allows you to assess merits not just upon data or other people’s views, but against something a bit more enduring and I believe robust – and that is ‘what is right’?
It also allows you to be able to seek ‘wise’ counsel when you may not be too sure if you are viewing the issues clearly. It allows you to set out the benchmark against which you want to measure your pending decision – WCS – and then turn to a ‘trusted someone’ who is able to advocate for that benchmark and test you in your thinking and decisions.
WCS
The three elements that I include in my core are wisdom, courage and strength. So, in all my decisions, I am asking myself, ‘do they reflect each of these traits’? And if they do, then I am on track to making the right decision, but if they don’t, then I need to pause and understand why.
Here is what each element reflects and how I define it for the purpose of testing my decisions:
Wisdom:
The wisdom to make the right decisions expediently. Wisdom is founded in humility and motive.
Humility is the willingness to listen openly to others and to search out their understanding and knowledge. It is a trait that will draw others to contribute their best, as they know they will be heard and appreciated. It allows decisions to be made after openly considering all submissions for and against.
Motive and purpose go hand in hand. Purpose is the reason for a business’s existence, and that is founded in the customer need you are seeking to fulfil. Motive is the reason why you are a leader and the reason why the decision before you has to be made.
Purpose in business is never about profit, as profit is an outcome of competing well to meet customer needs. Motive again should never be about profiteering, but it is about being able to outcompete others in delivering value to customers.
In motive, there can be no self-interest as that can only introduce bias which will distort your ability to make wise decisions.
So, wisdom would be reflected in decisions well-considered and focused on achieving an outcome that would improve customer value and competitiveness, and from which increased profit is one expected outcome.
The enemies of wisdom are false pride, impulsiveness and recklessness. These reflect decisions made for oneself or ones made in haste and/or anger.
Courage:
The courage to step forward in faith and take the risks that will enable the business to achieve its goals.
Courage is the willingness to fail. To make a decision that is right for the business but may carry personal risk. Courage is reinforced by a faith in the business and its people and their ability to deliver.
I also believe sincerity and humanity are aspects of courage. These traits allow you to be authentic and committed to the purpose for which the business exists and its vision. It builds trust which reinforces faith.
Is the decision I am about to make one which reflects courage? And if I am hesitant, what is giving rise to this nervousness?
There are many enemies of courage, including those noted above under wisdom. If you are scared of a loss of face or dollars that may arise from decisions that you make, then there will be many missed opportunities. Safe decisions typically don’t get a business very far.
Strength:
The strength to endure, overcome and achieve.
Strength requires a personal and corporate discipline. A willingness to enforce ‘the rules’ so that you, the business, and everyone within it, can achieve its/their full potential.
It also requires a rock-solid knowledge that the decision you have made is right so that you can stand by it and not wavier. In anything worthwhile achieving, there will be many barriers and challenges to be overcome, including many people who will be against your decision.
Is this an action – decision – that must be made as it seeks an outcome that has to be achieved? Achieved for the right purpose and motive, and therefore one which I and everyone in the business can put their combined weight and commitment behind.
The enemies of strength are again listed above with weak compassion also being a weakness and reflecting an inability or unwillingness to hold people accountable.
WCS may not be for you, and you may develop a completely different set of principles upon which to test your decisions. You can see that this ‘reflection point’ is not about whether the dollars stack up or the data supports it, it is whether, as a leader, it is the right decision for the business.
It is not about profiteering, nor personal gain but it seeks to ask, is it ‘righteous’? Is it the right thing to do by our customers, employees and the community? And if so, it will be the right thing for the business and its shareholders.
It is important as a leader to have a means to reflect on your decisions and make a judgement as to whether they are right. And whether you as a person stand behind that decision and all its impacts.
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All the best in the success of your business,
Richard Shrapnel
