The Art of Leadership—Decision Making

The Art of Leadership—Decision Making

Over the years in my leadership positions, I have made numerous decisions, some disastrous and some genius, many more somewhere between the two. I have enjoyed making decisions. The better ones have always been more effective if I follow a process. The following ten decision-making principles constitute a process that has helped me make good decisions in the workplace and beyond.

Realize you are the decision maker

Ah, therein lies one of the biggest scopes of a leader. You have to make decisions. You cannot avoid them! Even not making a decision is a decision, albeit sometimes not necessarily a good one. Some decisions will be easy, some will be hard, some will create challenges for others, some may even offend others, some will be genius, some will be dumb, and some will show you are the greatest leader of all times. But mostly decisions will propel you and/or your organization along the path of success. 

Understand both sides of the decision

Perhaps, we should say that you must understand all sides of the decision. Initially, you may think that a “yes” or a “no” decision is in order. In reality, there are other sides of the decision: “Maybe not right now,” “Let’s involve others in the decision-making process,” “Are there aspects we are not seeing?” And many others. 

Do your homework

Decision-making constitutes doing your homework, whether it is visiting with others, reviewing the data, digging through the research, contemplating outcomes and workload, debating pros and cons, or acknowledging and ultimately accepting consequences. While doing your homework, you should also realize that your decision must be timely. 

Involve others in the decision-making process

You may have to make the final decision, but you should involve the people you have hired in helping you make the decision. If you have hired correctly, they are smart people, more than capable of reviewing with you any challenges that might come because of the decision. They probably can see angles you may not have foreseen. Trust them. Include them. Involving good heads, strong hearts, and good visionaries and pragmatists will always make you a better leader. 

Make the decision

Ironically, you have to make the decision. Of course, you will make the decision after you have done your homework, listened to others, and understand the potential consequences. But ultimately, the decision is yours. I know a few so-called leaders who think about it and think about and put off making the decision to the extreme. So, when the decision is finally made, people whose lives and jobs depend on the situation and have done everything in their power to help their leader with the decision have basically downgraded their opinion (s) of the leader. Leaders make decisions. Better stated: Leaders make timely, informed decisions.  

Understand the consequence (s) of your decision

Fortunately or unfortunately, there will be consequences to your decision. Many “ouches” will come your way, like ripping off a band aid. It may hurt for a moment or two—maybe even a year or two or even longer—but if you have done your homework, involved others, and made a good decision, then you can and should accept the outcome. 

Take ownership of the decision

There will be decisions that will not be good ones. It is inevitable. Instead of blaming others, take full ownership of it. You are/were/will be the ultimate decision maker. If the decision is not a good one, go to the evaluation/assessment component of the process. There may have been an angle you or your team overlooked. Or there may have been an unintended consequence. Do not be afraid to be accountable for the decision. Be sure, though, to give out the appropriate accolades because of a good decision. It will make you a better and a more effective leader. 

Assess the decision

Yes, you have to determine whether your decision is a good one. When you brush your teeth with an electric toothbrush, you know that’s a good decision, especially when you go to your six-month checkup, and the dental hygienist tells you your gums are looking good. Assessment should always be a part of the decision-making process. If changes need to occur, then make them, following a similar process you followed with some variation to make the right decision. 

Follow up

Once the decision has been made and you have completed the assessment, continue to follow up to make sure the decision is still a good one and on track toward success. Sometimes, you will have to review and perhaps reevaluate the decision. There is no shame in saying, “Well, that wasn’t the best decision we have ever made. Let’s take another look and try again.” 

Do not beat yourself up for the bad decisions

Guess what, bad decisions creep into the leadership equation. Unfortunately, you cannot make good decisions 100% of the time. You can make a zillion good decisions, but often there will be that one decision that may haunt you for the rest of your life. You cannot, however, continue to focus on that bad decision. Why? Because it will be so close in your line of vision that it will obstruct the bigger picture, the vision of what you need to do. The most amazing thing that can happen from making a bad decision is how you turn a bad decision into a good one and move forward. Or maybe even be willing to discard the decision completely. Sometimes, you just have to shake your head a few times and move on. 

Decision-making is one of the most challenging aspects of being a leader. It can create heartache and heartburn while simultaneously euphoria and self-satisfaction. The key to good, effective decision-making is this: You have to make them. Just make sure you have done everything you can to make a good decision and then be willing to accept whatever consequence that follows, good or bad. 

Darrel L. Hammon, Ph.D.

Finding focus and clarity in your life.

Finding focus and clarity in your life

Introduction 

Have you been at a loss lately to find your focus and clarity in your life? During these times of both challenges and marvels, we tend to wonder where our focus is and whether there is any clarity in our lives. What cannot happen is that we give up and fade off into oblivion in our lives, just getting up or even not getting up in the morning and mopping around the house, always wishing things would change but doing nothing about it.

The following seven principles/suggestions are (almost) surefire ways of finding focus and clarity. The (almost) comes in if you read them, force a big yawn, and do nothing about your focus or clarity. If you want to do something to help, read on. Even if you have an inkling you want to do better, read it twice.

Always look holistically at everything (Focus on the big picture!) 

The challenge emerges when we do not look and focus on the big picture—your future. Yes, there are lots of details in anything that we do. The rub comes when we focus only on the details and get lost in the minutia. It is like climbing into one of those deep pits full of little balls, red and blue, trying to find just the few blue ones and submerge ourselves into the balls. All else fades into darkness, and we cannot tell the blue ones from the red ones. The safe bet is to lift up your heads and scan the entire area. Seeing holistically will always keep your mind and eyes open to the realm of possibilities. It’s ultimately like standing on a high mountain on clear day and seeing forever in any direction. Ah, the beauty of a holistic view! Make sure your future is always in your sights.

Accept that you can succeed 

One of the key ingredients in the acceptance thing is understanding that you can overcome challenges. Sure, there will always be a boatload of challenges that seem to dock in your path, some by your own choices, others because some people place them there, and still a few others that just seem to appear out of nowhere and try to sabotage you. You just need to accept those challenges and know that with patience and diligence, you will succeed. The marvelous thought that should come to you is that you can succeed because you choose to succeed.

Determine what you really to do 

Some of us spend too much time weighing a zillion things we can do or must do. While it is important to spend time thinking about things, at some point you have to determine what you really want to do or what needs to be done. I know a person who says I need to do this, but the moment she begins to walk to get that thing done, she gets distracted by some other thing that needs to be completed. Consequently, nothing gets done, and then she complains that she did not finish what she started to do. So, sit down, place all of the things you need to do and want to do, write them down, and then prioritize through planning.

Plow forward with all effort 

Once you determine what you want to do, just begin doing it by plowing forward with all effort. I have discovered that once you climb out of your shell or lethargy and just begin, you will find that it is exhilarating to be out and about doing what you have determined to do. There is something invigorating about accomplishing what you have determined to do. Just keep moving forward, no matter what. At times, you may not be able to go as fast, but continue to plow forward.

Take advantage of the tools around you 

Knowing that you can succeed is enhanced by utilizing the tools that surround you. So, what are those tools? Most of the time we cannot really do things by ourselves—even brushing our teeth. We do need a toothbrush, toothpaste, and usually a mirror. Succeeding is attending that class that will help us, or some reading material off the web or checked out from the library, or that free seminar offered by one of our colleagues or someone in the same business group—a snippet here, a bit of information there. Don’t be shy about using it to help you become even more focused and clear about you and your goals and aspirations. Just gather the tools up as you go. Don’t forget, though, to share your tools with others.

Be positive and stick to it 

Of course, when the challenges do come—and they will come, usually in bunches—you will need to be positive and stay positive. Now, this means a bit of pragmatism and reality need to align. The pragmatic person sees things in a realistic way because they know that things happen. That’s just the way it is. When you align pragmatism with positivity, you gain a sense of stick-to-it-ness. You truly understand that things will happen, and your positivity will propel you forward beyond that negativity. Period.

Utilize mentors—i.e. Let appropriate people help you 

One of the important things to stay focused is find a mentor or two who can help you stay on track. There really are lots of people who want to help you. True mentors will help people. I am not saying that you have to call them every single day to “check in.” Most mentors are there when you need them. They are not a crutch for you. Rather, they help boost you forward, giving you wings and motivation to go and do. Then, when someone asks you for help, please reciprocate. You will feel both ennobled and enabled.

Conclusion 

Focusing on what you need to do and doing it will always bring clarity to your tasks. Often, the clarity is so transparent you may think it is a newly cleaned window that allows you to see farther than you have ever seen. If the dimness ever re-emerges, quickly take the effective, more focused and holistic view of things and the lucidity will engulf you.

 

 

Who are emerging leaders and are they easy to spot?

 Who are emerging leaders and are they easy to spot?

You could say I have been around a bit in leadership circles and roles, mostly in higher education, particularly community colleges and universities with community college roles and missions. Consequently, I have seen, helped, and mentored my share of people who I would classify as emerging leaders. 

For the past decade or more, a few questions have bounced around: “Who are emerging leaders? And how can we help them propel themselves forward?” I will answer only the first question and save the second question for another essay.

First, who are emerging leaders and are they easy to spot? In many ways they are. Some of them are already serving in leadership positions, some rounding off their edges, yet they possess a sense of vigilance and a willingness to learn and to grow. I have chosen just seven attributes or characteristics to help us recognize these emerging leaders:

They are influencers.

Now, some of emerging leaders may know they are influencers in a formal way, but many more are influencers in an informal way. This means that they do not try to impress. It just happens naturally by the way they say things or do things. They show up, full blown, ready to go every single day. They are consistent and persistent in all that they do, and they rise to the top by natural transition by creating, participating in, and seeking opportunities for themselves to grow and develop.

They are contributors.

They are ones you see asking good questions, questions that stimulate growth or show that they have done their homework before they ask the question. They are powerfully patience in their contributions throughout the organization. They do not force themselves on others or talk over other people to get their point across. They know when to contribute appropriately and strategically, and their contributions move the company and the conversation along in a positive way.

They are smart and exude a bit of savvy about what is happening.

These days it seems that everyone exhibits “smartness” or “intelligence” in a variety of areas. While some people exhibit these qualities, it does not mean that they know what to do with their smartness and intelligence. To me, emerging leaders exude a judiciousness about how they incorporate their smartness and intelligence in their normal, everyday actions. Gratuitous exhibition does not become them. Rather, these emerging leaders show it through ingenuity and conversation and the actual doing what needs to be done.

They are excited about coming to work and staying engaged.

Too many people are lethargic about coming to work and staying engaged in what we are trying to accomplish. Emerging leaders stay excited and motivated about the doings of the organization. They may not be the perennial show horse who comes to work all prim and proper although they may look good because they focus on what needs to be done instead of how they look. They possess a sense of energy all day long, perhaps even being the light that that shines on everyone as they are engaged in doing real work.

They are willing to go beyond the daily mundane.

Emerging leaders seek opportunities to show what they can do. There are those in our lives—past and present—who always ask for extra credit. While I am not one to give extra credit, I do believe if you can do the work, then just do it. The emerging leaders who go beyond the daily mundane do it because they have chosen to excel and want to become better, not necessarily because of the credit or accolades they may receive. They possess an internal guide that propels them forward in all that they do. They look forward to going beyond what is being asked of them. Their work ethic is impeccable.

They work in teams and often emerge as leaders of those teams.

Emerging leaders like to work in teams and implicitly understand the various roles in a team. They do not dominate the conversation or try to persuade everyone to come to their side. It is a natural progression as they rise to the occasion. By choice, the people in their groups tend to look to them because they trust them. Their groups tend to coalesce and become one, and their projects have positive trappings and show great thought, creativity, and resourcefulness.

They leave a trail of good and positivity behind them.

There are those so called leaders who advance but leave behind a wake of negativity and workplace debris—people whom they stepped on and over, projects that others did but they took credit for, and a sense of “we-are-glad-he/she-is gone-from-this-organization.” Exceptional emerging leaders leave their last position in better shape than the found it. People moan their departure because of what they have done and how they treated others. Emerging leaders understand culture and try with all their might and mind to leave behind a culture that wishes them well and welcomes them back anytime. When emerging leaders do this and they move from one successful position to another, they can always call back, ask for help, and never be turned down or away. They gain allies wherever they go, and they never forget where they came from.

Now, there are many, many more qualities that may define an emerging leader, but these are the ones that have impressed me over the past several years. I have watched these types of leaders transition nicely from just pools of people to upper leadership in organizations because of their persistence and personality to do what needs to be done. While not one attribute completely defines emerging leaders, a combination of many create and propel emerging leaders to the top of leadership circles. 

Darrel L. Hammon, Ph.D.