Management Leverage Blog

Involving others in the decision making process is generally a good idea.

People tend to be more satisfied with the outcome when the process used to arrive at that outcome is fair. And, who knows?  You might come up with a better idea when others are involved.

But be careful…

Involving others in the decision making process takes time. Often managers have to make immediate decisions. If the production line stops, you might not have time to consult everyone on the floor as to the best course of action.

You could also look weak in times of crisis. If your building burns down, it may be much more effective to climb on top of the rubble with a megaphone and shout, “We will rebuild!” than, “Please be patient while we consult with each of you before we determine our best course of action.”

Finally, others may not be privy to the info needed to make an effective decision. Let’s face it, as manager you are privy to information  that those a few rungs down are not. You are much less likely to generate effective solutions when you supply decision makers with partial information and half-truths.

And what happens when you make a decision that runs counter to what the group comes up with (because you understand the problem better than they do)? By ignoring their suggestions, you generate more dissatisfaction than you would have if you never asked for them for their input in the first place.

There are many reasons to involve others in the decision making process. But it’s not a prescription for success. Ineffective managers and leaders use the same decision making process regardless of the circumstances.

Is your career growing along with your manager’s?
Why you should never trust a silent boss

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Reut published the following Dr. Seuss quote in her most recent blog entry:

“You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some widows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…

…Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.”

When you look at creative masterpieces, the same painting, or sculpture, will look different from different parts of the room. I’m experience the same with this clip from Dr. Seuss. So let’s just focus on one angle—the windows that are lit and the ones that are dark.

As managers, it’s the lighted windows that get us into trouble. The lighted windows, heuristics, are the simple rules of thumb that we use to make decisions. We use them to find our way. If it were completely dark we would treat obstacles with a little more respect. We would overcautiously fumble through the workday. If all the windows were lit, we would be bombarded with so much information it would render us paralyzed.

So heuristics serve a valuable purpose, without decision making rules of thumb, managers couldn’t manage. But, although heuristics serve a very useful purpose, by relying on heuristics, managers also make mistakes in very predictable ways. And the busier we are, the more likely we are to rely on heuristics. So idle managers are less likely to ‘sprain an ankle’, than busy ones.

So if you can just manage to free up your day….

In today’s hectic work environment, that advice won’t help much. Instead, research shows that managers, who are simply aware of the heuristics they use, are much less likely to confuse the “light” with the “dark”. Or as Dr. Seuss says,

“Just never forget to be dexterous and deft
And never mix up your right foot with your left.”

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