Parent Post
Many decision-making frameworks aim
Many decision-making frameworks aim to help leaders use objective information to mitigate bias, operate under time pressure, or leverage data.
But these frameworks tend to fall short when it comes to decisions based on subjective information sources that suggest conflicting courses of action. And most complex decisions fall into this category.
Engage in rigorous self-reflection.This
Engage in rigorous self-reflection.
This is the hardest part. Now that you’ve completed the exercise, ask yourself:
- Was I being completely honest with myself in the earlier articulation of my values?
- What values do I give precedence to? Why? And at whose expense?
- To reconcile any inconsistencies, do I need to adjust the articulation of my moral, ethical, and role responsibilities to match how I actually act, or do I need to adjust my actions to make sure that what I do matches what I say matters to me?
Every complex leadership decision
Every complex leadership decision must balance three subjective dimensions.
- Ethics, or context-specific principles around what is acceptable in your organization or society.
- Morals, or your own internal sense of what is right and wrong, shaped by upbringing, family, community, identity, and faith.
- Role responsibilities, or your understanding of the responsibilities associated with your role in the organization.
Next, look at a
Next, look at a decision you’ll have to make soon.
Consider the following:
- If I want to make this decision in a way that is completely aligned with my personal moral framework, my society’s ethical framework, and my role responsibilities, what should I do?
- If it is very difficult or impossible to make this decision in a way that aligns all of these, what am I willing to compromise?
Learning to recognize and
Learning to recognize and balance these dynamic priorities is key to leading with integrity.
There aren’t any shortcuts, but actively investigating your own values and seeking alignment will give you the tools you need to make the difficult decisions that all leaders face.
Here are 5 sets of questions to ask yourself that will help you better understand and develop your responsibilities.
Develop a plan to
Develop a plan to communicate the decision.
Consider the following:
- Will it be difficult to communicate this decision in a way that reflects the moral and ethical frameworks that underpin it?
- What can I do to increase the likelihood that the decision will be interpreted the way it was intended?
- No decision exists in a vacuum. Is there anything the organization has recently done — or not done — that might be seen as contradicting the message I want to send?
The more you explore
The more you explore your own decision-making framework in the abstract, the better equipped you will be to make tough calls when the job requires it.
Each of these decisions will help you further sharpen your understanding of your underlying morals, the role that you are fulfilling, and the ethical context in which you are operating — just in time to make your next difficult choice.
Clarify your current worldview.Without
Clarify your current worldview.
Without judgment, only observation, ask yourself:
- How do I want to be perceived as a leader? What do I want to stand for?
- What do I think is the purpose of business in general?
- What do I think is the purpose of our business?
- What is my role within our business? What are my obligations, and to whom do I hold them?
- What am I willing to sacrifice in service of a desired goal?
Choose a recent major
Choose a recent major decision and evaluate it against the observations you just made.
Again, without judgment, only observation, ask yourself:
- How did this decision align with the ethical, moral, and role responsibilities I’ve identified for myself?
- If I were to make this decision over again and attempt to fully align with my ethical, moral, and role responsibilities, what would I do differently?
- Is there anything I need to adjust about my understanding of my own moral and ethical frameworks and/or my understanding of my role responsibilities in light of these observations?
