How Strong Leaders Develop Effective Decision Makers

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Stefanie McGary, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

When I accepted my first leadership position in Human Resources, I experienced a wide range of emotions. Having worked in the field for a number of years, I was excited and proud to have been promoted into a supervisory role, but I was also somewhat anxious. More than anything, however, I was determined to successfully and smoothly transition into the new position. I was fortunate to be surrounded by a group of amazing mentors who graciously offered their guidance and support. Years later, I treasure the many valuable lessons they helped me learn. One of the most important of those lessons was how to develop my decision making abilities.

Lesson 1: Strong Leaders Teach You to Find the Answers Rather Than Providing Them

Initially as a new leader, I would often seek out the feedback of my colleagues and superiors when I needed to make a tough decision. But rather than telling me the right thing to do, I found them asking me questions about the situation, lots and lots of questions. I’m not sure I even realized at the time that what they were doing was teaching me the steps to work through the situation to reach an appropriate conclusion. They knew that being a leader isn’t about having the answers to give to your team members. It’s about providing them with the tools to find the answers on their own.

Lesson 2: Strong Leaders Trust Their Team Members to Make Decisions

During one of our earliest conversations following my promotion, my supervisor sat me down and gave me a serious pep talk. We had worked together both as peers and as supervisor/supervisee for several years, and she had witnessed my career growth firsthand. Perhaps sensing my slight hesitation about taking on the new role, she was quick to reassure me that she had complete faith in my abilities. And while she would continue to offer her guidance and support, she felt certain that I was ready to leave the nest. Needless to say, it was quite a confidence boost as a new leader to know that my superior believed in me and trusted that I would make good decisions.

Lesson 3: Strong Leaders Stand Behind Your Decisions, Even if They Disagree

Another of my early leadership memories is of having to make a somewhat controversial decision which I then had to communicate to my supervisor. After I finished my explanation, she asked me why I had elected to make that choice. I talked her through my thought process and explained my reasoning for the decision. She looked at me and simply said, “Ok.” I then asked her if she would have made the same choice. She told me that it didn’t matter (which meant no). “Very rarely is there one ‘right’ way to handle a situation. As long as you’ve done your homework and have a valid basis for making the decisions that you do, I will always stand behind you.”

As leaders, I think we sometimes forget the importance of growing and supporting our talent. It is usually easier (and faster) to simply tell our subordinates what to do than it is to invest the time to approach each situation as a learning experience. But as busy as we sometimes get, we must make it a point not to overlook the immense value that comes from taking the time to teach others. After all, people want to learn and grow. It is what keeps us all fulfilled and alive in our careers.

So, the next time one of your subordinates approaches you with a challenge, before you simply tell them how to handle the situation, stop for a moment. Think about how important that person is as an individual and a professional. Think about those who were willing to take the time to mentor you earlier in your career and the impact that they had on your success. Think about the impact that you have already had and that which you will continue to have as you develop your team. And embrace the challenge as an opportunity to encourage growth in the next generation of leaders.