Too many leaders miss an essential insight about quality decision-making: A great decision is entirely dependent on quality execution to remain great.
It really doesn’t matter how good a decision is if it isn’t executed with rigor and vigor. Leaders overly focused on decision-making and not enough on the subscription and buy-in it takes to institute the decision are often surprised that their hard work in crafting the decision is all for naught.
A decision that isn’t executed well or that is resisted by those who must implement it might as well be a lousy decision. Good leaders recognize this reality and begin gaining subscription to a decision early in the process.
They involve those who will be tasked with execution early on, giving them a voice while the decision is being shaped. They also immediately begin clarifying the “Why” behind the decision and how it will benefit the organization, team, and team members before it is fully baked.
This gets everyone on board with the decision before it is finalized. A key component of this involvement includes widely sharing the data used in the decision process.
When team members understand the need for the decision and get to explore some or all the data used to make the choice, they feel a sense of ownership for the decision. This sense of ownership not only impacts acceptance but also carries over to how team members will execute the decision when there are setbacks or challenges during implementation.
Once a decision starts taking shape, good leaders often initiate a discussion about execution and request that a team begin construction of an execution and implementation plan.
Such a plan can be quite informative about the consequences of the decision and influence judgments about it. Of course, doing this before the decision is finalized and announced enhances support and acceptance of the choice.
Great leaders eventually come to the conclusion that flawless execution is much more powerful than a great decision. Leaders are commonly taught that making quality decisions is what matters most.
In reality, it is execution that makes the biggest difference in organizational outcomes. A really great decision finds true happiness in execution.
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