Bad Decisions, How Will You Support Them?
Empowered people make decisions. In the workplace, sometimes bad decisions are all that you have to work with. What should you do?
Leadership often has an interesting way of unfolding.
It’s common that employees at lower levels of the organization are faced with enduring the outcomes of poor decisions.
It’s about leadership, at all levels.
In many workplace scenarios, decisions are made by executive leaders and the middle managers are stuck with rolling out the new direction. When most agree with the direction, things can go well. Of course, the opposite is also true too.
If you are faced with supporting a decision you don’t agree with, what should you do?
Leadership has responsibility. Leadership comes from all organizational levels.
You should lead.
Navigating Bad Decisions
Some decisions are deal-breakers. Ethically challenged decisions or legally challenged decisions, those need to be weighed differently.
In most cases, your concerns over decisions or choices should be voiced. They should be voiced constructively and tactfully with those involved.
Once that opportunity, if it exists, is over, then your support will be required.
As an individual you should consider two high-road choices.
First, you can appropriately support a decision that you lack some agreement with and seek out the best possible results. Conduct business constructively and with a supportive attitude.
The second option isn’t as easy. If it is a major change and you completely believe this is the beginning of the end, you may have to make it the end by removing yourself.
Fighting what you feel is a bad decision with poor behavior and compromising team efforts, organizational culture, and lowering morale are destructive. Perhaps more destructive than the bad decision.
Great leaders at all levels navigate these scenarios tactfully and constructively.
Everyone wants middle ground on these two roads. Sometimes there are shades of grey. In other cases, it is straight forward, black and white, no grey.
The road you choose is a decision.
Make it a good one.
Two bad’s don’t make a good.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
