Decision-making: The bedrock of leadership

Decision-making among leaders is one of the most vital competencies for today’s organizations.

To capably lead a business, or a team within a company, a professional must be able to make decisions the rest of the group will support. These choices can’t be too hasty, but they must be timely. When leaders can properly analyze the information they have and take decisive action, it sets the tone for their entire organization.
The factors going into making the right choice are many and varied. Leaders have to analyze data, take gut feelings into account, surmise the possible consequences and properly rate the skills of the employees within their sections. These abilities are relevant for every employee in a position of authority – and anyone who hopes to ascend to such a role in the future.
Decision-making in a changing environment
One of the most concerning factors today in the corporate world – and an element that makes decision-making very difficult – is the rapid pace of change. Forbes contributor Jeff Boss recently explained how to move forward decisively even when there is a great deal of uncertainty affecting every industry and region. He noted that it helps for each member of a team to have clear roles and responsibilities. It’s easier to make choices when it’s obvious the person making the call has the authority to do so.
Furthermore, Boss noted organizational leaders can align their personal decision-making with the greater objectives of their companies. The many unknown and confusing factors affecting today’s business world can slow down the process of leadership, but contributing to business strategies to move toward long-term goals is something that will keep the firm progressing forward.
Be ready to change style
In addition to the many unknowns plaguing leaders today, strict adherence to one decision-making style could hamper progress. Business Journals recently reported management tips from Walmart Director of Global Leadership Strategy and Development Jay McNaught, who maintains that many executives today make choices intuitively instead of fully examining their styles. Some of them gravitate toward certain approaches and competencies and avoid others, and this inflexibility could lead them down the wrong road.
For instance, sometimes managers become too rational. They apply a strict sense of criteria to a given situation and fail to account for intuition. While raw intuition uninformed by data is obviously no basis for a major choice, the inverse is also to be avoided – sometimes decisions that are great on paper fail when placed into real-life circumstances.
Furthermore, it’s possible to make a bad decision based on isolation and a lack of collaboration. McNaught stated, according to Business Journals, a valuable part of the decision process is knowing when and how to collaborate. This is another situation where leaders must walk a fine line. While ignoring others and making choices completely alone can lead to problems for the company, so can shifting a decision to someone else when it’s important for that manager to take responsibility.
Invest in expertise
Moving forward with a lack of decision-making skill could have dire consequences for any organization today. One major choice made with too much or little information, or based on a flawed premise, could lead an organization down a dangerous path. Fortunately, the vital importance of decision-making skills means dedicated education in this topic can have immediate and positive effects on leaders and the teams they command.
This is where courses from MasteryTCN come in. Leadership and decision-making training can help organizations thrive in today’s corporate environment, where time is of the essence and decisiveness can divide industry leaders from those that struggle to keep up. Competency in this area helps teams at every level of a business.
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