The ultimate goal of any leadership role is progress. Progress is the result of action. Action is a decision to “do.” Leaders are defined by their decisions. Think about your worst boss and your greatest boss. What defined them for you? For many of us, it was about the decisions they made.
Stephen Covey asserted that we are what we constantly do. I completely agree. Decisions are a manifestation of our intellectual, professional, philosophical, spiritual, social, and even emotional paradigms. As leaders, we have a natural tendency to develop patterns of decision-making behavior. There is no prescriptive balance as each paradigm contains benefits and drawbacks.
The application for leaders lies in the diligence of 360° self-evaluation. One of the keys to conducting effective 360° self- evaluation is understanding our individual decision-making paradigm.
“Am I impulsive?”
“Do I tend to lean on my experience or is it more of my “gut feeling” when making decisions?”
“What would Jesus do?”
“What’s best for the team?”
“Am I willing to leave one behind?”
“I will evaluate the pros and cons of my current system and a new system.”
“Am I fair?”
“What one word would the people that I am coaching, leading, directing, supervising, or responsible for, use to describe my decision-making?”
Examining one’s motivations and agendas as to why they decide the way that they do is a massive step in any leader’s maturation process.
