The Manager as Decision Maker
February 4, 2008 by Phil Gerbyshak
Filed under Business
This is a guest post from Stephen Smith
Being a successful manager depends on taking responsibility as a leader, and one of the duties of a leader is to make decisions. Making good decisions can influence morale, for good or ill. Your decisions can solve or create problems. Some days all you manage to accomplish is to make decisions for people.
Many of the decisions that you make take little effort, based on your skills and training. Others may lie at the edge of your authority or your experience, and will take some thinking. Here are a few tips for improving the decision-making process.
Define the end result
What purpose do you wish to achieve through this decision? List the criteria that you will use to judge the effectiveness of your results. Everything else will be based on these items.
List your options
Brainstorm a list of potential decisions that may achieve the desired result. Get creative, and involve others who could be affected by this choice.
Anticipate Problems and Solutions
Each of the ideas from the brainstorming session could generate a potential solution, or its own set of obstacles. List the Pros and Cons of each, using the criteria you developed in the first step.
Request assistance
Get feedback and suggestions from those who may be affected by the decision you need to make. Being open to their ideas may create new possibilities that you did not think of initially. Solicit the input of others higher-up in the decision-making process as well, if your experience is limited. Good advice from a mentor is invaluable, and including your team members builds trust.
Choose the best option
Make your decision with confidence based on the available choices and the best advice of your associates. Because you have exercised creativity and feedback, you should have covered all of the bases and be ready to move ahead. Develop a written plan for executing your decision and,
Implement your decision
Inform all of the affected parties of their particular role, and explain the end result you defined in the first step. Be prepared to include a provision for tracking, if necessary, in your implementation. Communicate with everyone involved when adjustments to the plan are made.
Obviously, following all of these steps is most useful for the largest of planning decisions, whereas ‘Common Sense’ will often dictate your course in smaller choices. Using these steps can improve your capacity to see the larger picture, and strengthen your sense of practical judgment.
Stephen Smith is the editor of Productivity in Context where he teaches people how to use basic tools and simple practices for taking control of their workflow situation, practical ways of being more productive at work and at home.
These practices are designed to give you more time to do the things that matter to you!
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Thank you for the contribution Stephen. Good outline of a rational approach to decision making. How do you see emotions fitting into this framework?
David, good question. I would submit that as decision-maker you should work to keep emotion out of the process. However, the emotions of the stakeholders and others affected by the decision must be addressed. How your decisions affect morale and employee engagement are just as important as the fiduciary and political considerations.
For example, ruthless cost-cutting can create in increase in employee turnover as the best and brightest leave for greener pastures.
Stephen/David, i would to add a final tip for managers to “Be Accountable” after implementing the decision. I have written the importance of it. Please drop in a comment with your feedback.
David – Should emotions fit into the framework? A decision made on emotions has not always proven to be the best because such decsions tend to get personal and when that happens a manager tends to lose his authoritative edge. Dont you think?
No I don’t think that at all. Emotions are what guide and often govern behavior. I have seen more projects and iniatives fail because of lack of emotional attention. If the decision does not excite us or enliven us we often don’t act on it. Yes it might seem to play out in logic but if our gut feeling is queasy I want to attend to that too. I would lose my authoritative edge for a strong emotional connection with those I work with to ensure implementation and action. Margaret Wheatley writes wonderfully on this topic.
I do wish the Steak ‘n Shake manager would read today’s blog post– perhaps last Wednesday’s incident could have been avoided: http://putzworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/steak-and-shake-denies-service.html
Interesting discussion about emotions. I find that emotions are an important factor, however it’s tough as a manager to plan for them. Think about emotions? Sure. Plan for them? Nearly impossible.
That’s why books and courses like those offered through Crucial Conversations are so critical. You have to get PAST the emotion and focus on the pool of shared meaning, so you can stop being of “lizard brain” and start thinking like a human again.
Trying to think rationally is an important key, and Stephen’s framework is a good one to follow.
Karen – That’s a horrible situation for Steak & Shake. I’ll have to share that soon. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.