CHAPTER 14
Course-Correct Quickly After Bad Decisions
Power is nothing unless you can turn it into influence.
Ever find yourself in an organization or on a team that’s struggling because of a leader’s poor decision? You sit back and reflect on the leader personally and wonder why a savvy, experienced, and ordinarily capable person could make such a dumb decision—one that wrecks a project or destroys the morale of so many people.
As a leader yourself, you may be scratching your head wondering the same thing about a past decision: Where did I go wrong? How did I miss the signs that this decision would sink the ship so fast? Analyze such situations—in your own organization along with those huge scandals in the news—and you’ll find several common causes.
“BEEN THERE, DONE THAT” SYNDROME
When faced with new situations, leaders sometimes inadvertently shortcut their decision-making skills by shoving the issue into the same category as previous problems. But they have faulty memories. The situation isn’t the same.
Blockbuster and Eastman Kodak come to mind. Confronted with a revolution in digital technology, the leadership team at Kodak refused to believe the industry really would change so dramatically. They thought they’d bury the competition like they had so many other times before. Blockbuster simply never dreamed that the video rental business was moving to a monthly subscription model—until they went bust and start-up Netflix swallowed their customer base.
Some leaders continue to think every new challenge is simply a version of an old challenge they’ve overcome. Result: The new problem swallows them—and sometimes their entire organization—before they realize it.
I recently discussed a problem with a senior leader; a decision he’d made was being widely ignored or circumvented throughout his organization. I suggested that he survey representatives of the various departments to get feedback on the situation and alternatives. His response: “Look, I already know what people will say. Anyway, you only get negative feedback on a survey.”
To date, he has done nothing to right the ship, and the organization has largely ignored his directives, going around him to ask for approvals and to get things done. Currently, his ship is taking on water fast; he’s climbing to a higher deck and pretending not to notice the insurrection. As I write this book, a few months later, he’s fallen overboard, wondering how it all happened.
SELF-INTEREST ABOVE THE COMMON GOOD
Some savvy leaders look out for the team, department, or organization—up to a point. But when the common good clashes with what’s best for them personally, the tide turns. Of course, to a degree, everyone has self-interest in mind. Otherwise, they’d never ask the salary when they accept a job, never underprice their services or product as a seller, and never expect a raise or promotion.
At question here are inappropriate self-interests: lying, withholding information that sabotages a project, blaming others, refusing to own up to mistakes, or taking credit for others’ work or ideas.
POWER
A leadership position, however gained, grants power. And power feeds ego. Sometimes leaders begin to “believe their own press”—that they are always the smartest person in the room. These leaders surround themselves with people who continually reinforce that concept. Information comes to them sifted through sycophants. Before long, these leaders lose touch with reality. Their decisions therefore may or may not reflect the reality of a situation.
A few years ago, a general manager bragged of his resignation from an organization with an overblown sense of his own power and importance there: “Although I’m leaving for a better opportunity, in some ways I feel bad about going. So many people are upset at my resignation. I look for several of them to resign because I’m leaving.”
Reality check: Nobody resigned when that general manager left. The CEO reports that the company has continued to grow without him. The perceptions of powerful people become distorted when they surround themselves with only their supporters.
HOW LEADERS COURSE-CORRECT AND COMMUNICATE AFTER A POOR DECISION
Accept responsibility for the faulty decision. Nothing starts you on the road to recovering trust like admitting to your troops your lapse in judgment. It’s the failure to do so that infuriates others and compels them to keep pointing out the poor decision and its consequences. Confession is not only good for the soul but also good for clearing the record and refilling the trust account.
Hear from the troops regularly. To stay grounded, you need information from all sources. You have to ask difficult questions—questions that may generate troubling answers. You have to deal with perceptions. You need to understand the impact your actions, your words, and your silences have on other people. Certainly, feedback mechanisms like the 360-degree assessments work to create awareness. And punishing people for telling you hard truths is unwise.
Find confidantes. Seek out someone or a small circle of trusted confidantes who do not report to you or depend on you for a paycheck—an internal or external coach, mentors, a spouse, or friends. These people can help you stay focused on the tough challenges of leadership.
Smart decisions come from smart leaders committed to staying grounded in reality by communicating with a wide circle of people at all levels.