Not An Easy Ride

Diligent decision-making is always a long journey, one that demands widening our horizons.

- Rajeev Shroff

At one point in my career, I was coaching a former Armed Forces senior leader in the corporate world. Brilliant at his work, he always knew all the answers and owing to this, his team would blindly push decisions upwards, leaving it all to their leader’s discretion. An amount of arrogance began to set in, and he eventually stopped listening to others. As a result, others stopped growing and completely ceased to think for themselves, or even to voice their opinion.

I tried every possible way to break through to him and after several efforts, I ran out of options. I was driving to his office to tell him that I could not help him any further, and the solution struck me—I searched for articles written by Armed Forces leaders about the importance of listening to the troops. When he read these writings, I was finally able to connect with him. I was now communicating with him in a language he truly understood.

Assuming the position of a leader is challenging, even more so than the work that one puts in to reach that position. As leaders, we are accountable to a host of stakeholders. Every decision a leader takes holds special weight, and every mistake a leader makes can have a domino effect. It is, then, no wonder that decision-making in a managerial position can be a tricky road to navigate.

Here are some ways to think a little differently while making that all-important decision.

Steer clear of ambiguity

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions become easier.” – Roy Disney