Tips for making difficult decisions as a senior leader

Making difficult decisions as a senior leader is one of the most challenging aspects of the job. Whether it’s a tough call about a major investment or a difficult personnel decision, leaders need to make decisions that will impact their organisation and the people they lead.

Here are some practical tips for leaders who need to make tough decisions:

1. Slow down and define the problem

We are assumption machines, and that can get us into trouble.

Before making any big decisions, stop and test your assumptions about what the problem even is. Take the time to define the problem clearly and concisely.

This helps focus your decision-making process and ensure that you’re solving the right problem.

2. Don’t believe your own PR. Gather data, brainstorm and carefully evaluate.

It’s essential to gather information from different sources and viewpoints. As in step 1, assumption-busting is one of the most important things you can do in this process. Ask your team members, colleagues or external consultants for input. This will help you make a more informed decision and avoid any blind spots.

Brainstorm potential solutions to the problem. Encourage your team members to share their ideas and thoughts on how to tackle the issue. Be wary of narrowing the field too soon. When you think you’ve got the final choices ready, generate several more.

When you have your full list of potential solutions, evaluate each one carefully.

To avoid believing your own PR on your preferred solution, it’s worth asking: if we do x, and it goes horribly wrong, how would we be describing what happened when we’re mopping up after the event?

3. Make the decision. Seems obvious; doesn’t always happen

As a leader, you need to exercise judgment as to when the tipping point between useful analysis and unhelpful complexity and delay has been reached.

Once you have evaluated all the options and considered the consequences, it's time to make the decision. Getting stuck in analysis paralysis won’t help anyone.

Delay is, in itself, a decision to accept the default outcome. Sometimes deferring a decision is the correct path but if that’s not what you want, be confident in your choice and communicate it effectively to others. Explain why you made the decision, what it means for the organisation, and how you plan to move forward.

4. Reflect and learn

After making the decision, take some time to reflect on the process. Consider what worked well and what could have been improved. Use this experience to learn and improve your decision-making for the future.

Seek feedback from others about your decision-making process. This will help you understand how others perceive your decision and provide valuable insight into how you can improve your decision-making in the future. Be open to constructive criticism and use it to improve your leadership skills

5. Share the experience

Share your experience of making a difficult decision with others. This will help your team members understand your decision-making process and build trust with them. Encourage them to share their own experiences and perspectives on decision-making.

Making difficult decisions as a senior leader is challenging, but with these practical tips you can make informed decisions that will benefit your organisation and the people you lead.

Until next week,

Take care of yourself and others,
Madeleine

PS If you’d like help as you move through some difficult decisions in your role, let me know. Send me a message to enquire, and please share with anyone you think may benefit

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