I have previously made reference to what I identify as ‘the six principles of leadership‘, they are objective principles of leadership that when used effectively can greatly influence the efficacy of both you and your personnel.
Principles 4 (listen), 5 (consider) & 6 (act) are concerned with effective decision making. Having had the pleasure of working with a number of leaders from a variety of different backgrounds. I have observed a common pattern of behaviour that many leaders exhibit on a regular basis.
Some leaders tend to make decisions based on what they think the best course of action is in relation to the issue, situation or task at hand. This may or may not follow a brief period of consultation with their peers or trusted advisors. Which on the face of it seems to qualify as an appropriate level of consultation, however, if we examine this process further some interesting facts emerge.
More often than not those who are fully versed on the day-to-day workings of an operation are situated at the coalface so-to-speak. They are there on a day-to-day basis and as a result they have often developed an intricate and detailed working knowledge of the process in question. At times, perhaps unbeknown to you, they may have even tweaked the process from time to time in order to make it a little more efficient, an achievement they silently pride themselves on. Knowing that they have added to the efficacy of the organisation in some way. In truth they have become your subject experts, they possess detailed technical knowledge about the ins and outs of that process. They know what works and what does not and equally as important, if not more so, they know why these things work and work well.
The question therefore, is do we tap into this wealth of knowledge that has been honed and crafted on the back of practical hands-on experience, and in doing so tap into a sound and readily available pool of talent; reinforcing the existence and importance of teamwork within our organisation? Or do we simply ignore it and seek the conventional and generic wisdom of highly paid external consultants, many of whom will seek to work with the very people that we have overlooked in order to achieve the resolution that was readily available to us in the first place. Or do we break with conventional wisdom and actively seek to promote resolutions using our own people. Many of whom are often waiting for an opportunity to demonstrate how effective they can be when given the freedom to resolve issues that are well within their capabilities.
The effective use of Principles 4 (listen), 5 (consider) & 6 (act) allow us to do just that.
Listen – to what your experts tell you, they may be privy to more information than you think, encourage them to be as open as possible about how to achieve your outcome…
Consider – everything they have told you even if you didn’t like what you were hearing, they may be in a position to share some useful up-to-date information/research that you didn’t even know existed…
Act – The decision you make should be based on all of the available information, coupled with the advice and guidance of your subject experts (your team/s). Their input is extremely valuable and should play a pivotal part in your decision making process…