Leadership and strategic decision making
Today leadership and poetry have been on my mind. So, what’s the connection?
A few days ago I had the pleasure of participating in a programme led by my AG Consulting colleagues for leaders of in-house legal teams. Participants were discussing the legacy they’d like to create. Inevitably, this led me to reflect on my own leadership legacy.
I’ve noticed that we have a tendency to focus on forward momentum and positive action. How many of us have multiple “to do” lists? Certainly when I reflect on my leadership legacy, my mind immediately goes to actions I’ve taken to secure and sustain business success.
But on deeper reflection, I realise that some of the most important decisions I’ve taken or participated in as a leader were decisions NOT to do something. In the face of enticing short term gains and the near irresistible impulse for forward momentum, the decision not to proceed can be a difficult one. In the heat of the moment, making a truly objective assessment of the options can be challenging.
So what can leaders do to optimise their decision making? I’d suggest leaders need a roadmap that combines the following 3 elements:
1. A business strategy
Here I refer not to a mere aspirational strapline or a target financial outcome, but rather to a set of clear choices that articulate how the business will create a sustainable competitive advantage and generate stakeholder value.
If an opportunity is not aligned to the strategy, it risks being a distraction that draws attention and energy away from delivering a sustainable competitive advantage and building value.
2. Values
I refer here to the core values embraced by the business and its people. Clarity and consensus are key in identifying these shared values.
If an opportunity is not aligned to these values, proceeding with it risks impairing the culture of the business and dissipating stakeholder engagement.
3. Diverse perspectives
When making tough decisions, group think will not help leaders. The debate and challenge of diverse perspectives within the leadership team (albeit within the guardrails of a uniting strategy and shared values), will better serve the business.
With these 3 elements in place, leaders have a strong framework for strategic decision making.
And what does all this have to do with poetry? Quite simply my reflections on decision making brought to mind Robert Frost’s poem, The Road Not Taken.
