I think it's worth also mentioning what a good leader does after a decision is made. Takes responsibility for any outcomes from that, if there are problems take responsibility and communicate why they made that choice. It can be scary to have other people blame a leader for mistakes, but I think this is subverted by leaders proactively taking responsibility for any outcomes.
Bad outcomes can come from events outside of the leader or the teams control, so they do not always come from mistakes made by the team or the leader. However taking responsibility when mistakes are made, that will take a strong and resilient leader to admit their mistake and take ownership. This is especially true if the team was split between two decisions and one would have been the correct decision.
It seems that a leader is defined by an ability to take away the fear of deciding on his team. It is what makes leadership a very lonely calling. You are damned if things go south, which easily overshadows any glory you'd have received. It is this decisiveness that makes a good leader communicate (bring commonness), and keep reminding his team of the end goal or just point of the discussion. Without the end goal in mind, discussions will just run along to infinity. Time is of the essence and the team must ultimately move to the next point of discussion. The leader is the midwife of this transition.
Solid points. If you're a boss, you must be willing to make decisions: simple and difficult. The flip side of the coin is when we make a poor decision, OWN it.
I agree with this fully. One of the biggest things I've experienced being on BAD teams is the leader's inconsistency in making decisions. Not so much in in being a good or bad outcome, but what metrics were the decisions based upon.
I think it's worth also mentioning what a good leader does after a decision is made. Takes responsibility for any outcomes from that, if there are problems take responsibility and communicate why they made that choice. It can be scary to have other people blame a leader for mistakes, but I think this is subverted by leaders proactively taking responsibility for any outcomes.
Good point, Christopher. But -- are bad outcomes always
indicative of mistakes made?
Bad outcomes can come from events outside of the leader or the teams control, so they do not always come from mistakes made by the team or the leader. However taking responsibility when mistakes are made, that will take a strong and resilient leader to admit their mistake and take ownership. This is especially true if the team was split between two decisions and one would have been the correct decision.
It seems that a leader is defined by an ability to take away the fear of deciding on his team. It is what makes leadership a very lonely calling. You are damned if things go south, which easily overshadows any glory you'd have received. It is this decisiveness that makes a good leader communicate (bring commonness), and keep reminding his team of the end goal or just point of the discussion. Without the end goal in mind, discussions will just run along to infinity. Time is of the essence and the team must ultimately move to the next point of discussion. The leader is the midwife of this transition.
Good morning,
Solid points. If you're a boss, you must be willing to make decisions: simple and difficult. The flip side of the coin is when we make a poor decision, OWN it.
Thank you for your time.
I agree with this fully. One of the biggest things I've experienced being on BAD teams is the leader's inconsistency in making decisions. Not so much in in being a good or bad outcome, but what metrics were the decisions based upon.