By observing the relationships between actions and outcomes, we learn what to avoid and what to replicate in the future.
Cause and effect relationships inform many of the everyday decisions leaders make. Seasoned leaders are especially attuned to causal relationships and adapt their behaviors and strategies to match what they believe produces the consequences they desire.
What leaders generally underestimate in this learning process are the negative effects of inaction. Formally called omissive causation, the absence of an event that causes an effect is nearly as common as its sibling but is often overlooked until it is too late.
Examples of omissive causation are everywhere: When we fail to water a plant, it dies. When we choose not to give people candid feedback, they underperform. When we are too busy to eat, we get hungry. When we don’t decide in time, windows of opportunity close.
The best leaders are as focused on inaction and its associated consequences as they are on more common causal relationships. They recognize it is far too easy to ignore the inaction that is right in front of them.
The failure to act explains much of what commonly ails team members, teams, and organizations. But there is more to this picture to be on guard against.
When leaders do not focus on inaction, attributing a negative outcome to the failure to act can result in extreme reactions.
Rather than rationally accepting an omission and working to fix it, leaders often draw exceedingly negative attributions toward those who failed to act.
The reasons leaders attribute to others when they are surprised by omissive causation are not pretty and include negligence, irresponsibility, laziness, and even cowardice. Such attributions can lead to overly harsh corrections.
Not surprisingly, leaders who are startled to learn of a failure to act are less forgiving and more punitive to those they deem responsible. They come down much harder on those who fail to act than they do others who produce negative outcomes by their active choices.
Good leaders choose not to be surprised by the negative effects of inaction. They recognize they must scour the environment looking for the causal relationships of both action and inaction.
By making omissive causation an equal part of their observation and learning process, they become more skilled at challenging others about inaction before it is too late. By anticipating the effects of inaction, they can avoid unwanted consequences and extreme reprimands.
The failure to act can have severe consequences, and leaders would be wise to learn as vigorously from omissive causation as they do from action and outcome relationships. Making it a critical part of the strategic thinking process can pay big dividends.
Sometimes it is what we don’t do that has the biggest impact on the outcomes we create.
