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Leading Well
Your free online leadership letter helping your leadership grow from Kerrie Mullins-Gunst of KMG Consulting and Mentor Magic™
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In this issue: How to make difficult decisions... Welcome to Leading Well and a particular welcome to all the new subscribers who have joined over the past couple of months. If you know others who might enjoy Leading Well, please pass it on to them and encourage them to subscribe too. We hope you all like our new name for this newsletter, Leading Well. It was chosen because we think it best describes what we know you are striving for, and what we are committed to helping you achieve. As always I love to receive your comments or feedback, and thank you to everyone who contacted me with your thoughts on Mentoring and Coaching after the last issue. Kind regards, Kerrie How to Make Difficult DecisionsIf you are in any sort of leadership role you probably have to make dozens of decisions, if not hundreds, every single day. Yet why is it that some decisions are so difficult? And how can you make difficult decisions more effectively? Sometimes a manager or executive I am mentoring or working with is faced with a particularly difficult decision. One of the tools I have developed to help, is what I call the LARDAR process. LARDAR stands for the six steps you should take to work through
your decision. The steps are: The LARDAR process works for decisions ranging from those that a team manager might make involving just a couple of people, through to community-wide decisions involving complex and conflicting stakeholder interactions. In different circumstances a step may take just a few moments, or months or even years to work through. The first step, Listen, is related to consulting those who will be impacted by your decision, but it is more than that. You need to actively listen to what they may be struggling to articulate, as well as to what they are actually saying. The second step, Acknowledge, is important because it doesn't promise you will do what was suggested, but it validates the advice or perspective that was offered. People who struggle with leadership often fall at this step. When advice or input is given they tend to accept or reject it on the spot, locking themselves into an action or a default decision that they might not otherwise make after further input or consideration. Good leaders acknowledge input and promise no more (and no less) than to consider it when they make their final decision. Different people do the third step, Reflect, differently. Some people like to close the door and think, while others prefer to talk things through. You may like to research and consider what decisions others have taken in a similar situation and what the consequences were. Many prefer to reflect their thoughts off a trusted advisor, coach or mentor. But everyone should do some sort of reflection before an important decision. When you are ready to decide, move on to the fourth step and Decide! It is important to make your decision before the opportunity to do so is taken away from you by changing circumstance. Sometimes the right decision is to do nothing, but doing nothing IS still a decision and should be treated as such. If your decision will have significant repercussions making it quickly may be the kindest thing you can do for all involved. When you have made your decision you need to Act, the fifth step, as soon as possible. Inform everyone affected, make the necessary changes and shift the focus from discussions of what might happen, to how and when what has been decided will happen. The final step is to Recognize three things: Even if your ultimate decision was not what they advocated, the people you consulted and listened to have played an important role that deserves your appreciation and recognition. The people impacted by your decision need to be reassured that you really did listen and that you understood the effects your decision will have when you made your decision. It is important to recognize that people's emotions will determine their initial response to your decision, their readiness to change and how well they will adjust to the new situation. Recognizing these things can help people accept even a decision they might disagree with. The LARDAR process may not make a difficult decision more popular. Of course, good leadership is not about being popular. But it will ensure that you make the best decision possible, no matter how difficult that decision may be. And, if you find yourself facing a complex situation and need a qualified, confidential and impartial leadership mentor to work through the situation with, don't hesitate to call me on 03-9859 3924 to discuss how I can help you. (More ideas on making decisions in the Quick Tips below.) QUOTE OF NOTE "A man can only do what he can do. But if he does that each
day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day." You can hear Kerrie speak: 1. Kerrie's forthcoming one-day public seminars include: 2. KMG Consulting offer customised in-house seminars including: 3. Ask for advance notice of future seminars and the latest details of What's on When here. 4. Save money and tailor a seminar for your needs. Call us now on 03-9859 3924 to discuss in-house mentoring, leadership and executive development programs. 5. Get a group together and Kerrie will come to you. If you are a member of an association or group, call 03-9859 3924 to discuss how you can arrange for Kerrie to speak to your group or conference at a time or place that suits you. QUICK TIPS * Indecision is the enemy of effective leadership. Remember it is always easier to make a decision and do something, than to just worry about it. Step through my LARDAR process and the decision you make will be the best you could. * During the listening step, actively listen for concerns, ideas, opportunities, consequences, risks, impacts, outcomes, conflicts and resource implications. You may have to search for them in emotional responses to people's fears about the situation, but they can be worth probing for. * Make sure you have collected all the input you need before you move to the reflection and decision steps. You may need to research further information related to things you picked up when you were listening or other matters such as people, timelines, methods, costs, resource implications, environmental impact, profits, policies, regulations and risks involved. * Change is unsettling for many people. One of the ways you can help people adjust to the changes arising from your decision is to make sure people know what will NOT change, as well as what will. THE ENDNOTES You are welcome to use this article in your publication or on your website. Just make sure the following credit is attached:
As a courtesy, please advise us where the material will appear. Please share this newsletter and our website. Sign up here to receive Leading Well as soon as it is available, in addition to your complimentary Top Leadership Tips Workbook and more free leadership resources. Please take care to enter your email address correctly or you may not receive the information you have requested. The information you have requested will be sent to this email address.Copyright © KMG Consulting Kerrie Mullins-Gunst * Telephone 61-3-9859 3924
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