April 25, 2011
  
Meaning: Anyone in the midst of leading change knows intimately how critical it is to involve and engage others in decision-making and planning. Decisions and choices are complex; more voices are better than one. Yet part of the art of leadership is discerning when consensus and collaboration aren’t the right choice. Crises, financial choices and dicey personnel matters often require courageous action. These are moments in time for you to be decisive, to make what you believe is the right choice and even more importantly, to own it and say, “It’s my call.” One of our clients told about walking away from an acquisition that several on her team wanted to pursue. Later, when a competitor snapped up the target company, she heard internal rumors that the “senior team missed a chance.” In a subsequent meeting with the company’s managers, she addressed the topic head-on, saying, “Right or wrong, I personally made that call.” Are you leading with that degree of courage and ownership?     
  
Idea for Action: Be clear about your typical and “fallback” decision-making styles.  Some leaders thrive on consensus decision-making; some convene a group of “out of the box” thinkers, some turn to experts; some trust their own judgment or experience most; some turn to detailed analytics; and some rely on the chain of command to bring an answer forward. No matter what your typical approach happens to be for decision-making, the critical skill is to discern the moments in time when it’s “your call.”
 
At a recent trade association meeting, I heard Jeff Hazlett, the former chief marketing officer of Kodak, describe how he helped change the company’s business from a film manufacturer to a company that manages and moves images and information. This fundamental shift required Kodak employees to think differently and become more innovative. In one of his first meetings with his marketing team, he urged them to make choices, move quickly and experiment. He said, “Ask yourself: if I try this, is anyone going to die? If the answer is ‘no,’ then try it.”   
 
The critical skill is discerning when it’s your call. One critical “blinder” that can keep you from discerning that moment is worry: worry about being liked; worry about being able to keep others’ approval; or worry about making a wrong choice. So ask yourself, do I have any internal blinders that keep me from discerning when it’s time to step up and make a call? Do I have any blinders that cause me to postpone or delay a decision that’s really mine to make? Am I looking for confirmation just to feel better? Is anyone going to die if I make this call? At day’s end, your team – and others in your organization – will respect you more for having the courage to make a choice.

Best regards,
Sandra Davis, CEO