How effective is your ops team at making decisions quickly? When decision-making slows to a crawl, it’s a sign that something needs to change.
A client confided to me that her team seems to be afraid of decisions. She said:
“Decisions seem to get passed around like a hot potato. Nobody wants to take the lead. It jams up the works for the other teams too. We're just burning time and energy. How do I get them to be more decisive?”
No matter how smart and committed your team is, fear of making the wrong decision can paralyze them. It’s a snag in the fabric that you can’t ignore.
It’s time to empower your team to step up and drive progress.
In this episode, I’ll share strategies for being a leader who not only advocates for decisiveness but embeds it into your team’s operations.
Check out the full transcript at yourfuturerealized.com/29.
Hey Ops Leaders!
Embracing Your Unique Leadership Style: The First Step to Decisiveness
In the world of operations, leadership often comes with its own set of blueprints already.
But here's the thing, not everyone fits in the mold of a traditional leader, and that's okay. In fact, it's more than okay. It's your chance to innovate and create a culture that's uniquely yours and serves the mission.
For a long time, I kept my distance from leadership opportunities. Other leaders around me were more extraverted, vocal, and seemed to make decisions on the fly. I was convinced that to be a leader, I had to be like them.
Spoiler alert: I didn't. I tend to be more reflective and take a more thoughtful approach to decisions. And what I've learned is that building a team culture doesn't require you to clone the strategies of others.
You just identify the main ingredients of the outcome you want and then add your own flavor. You're the chef in your kitchen, and it's your call on how spicy or mild, salty or sweet, you want your dish to be.
Operations execs play a pivotal role in the culture of the entire organization. Leadership means recognizing that there's strength in diversity—of thought, approach, and execution.
You have the freedom to mold your leadership style in a way that works for you and your team. So, keep building the muscles that let you share your vision in a way that's creative and yours.
Understanding Your Impact on Team Decisiveness
Now, let’s say that decisiveness is an ingredient that you want to include. How can you as a leader breathe decisiveness into your team’s culture?
First it takes some inner work and self-reflection to establish the clear, tangible steps others can follow. I think of these four qualities you can lean into to get started:
1. Be decisively action oriented yourself . Set the frequency for your team and lead by example. This means deciding the best course of action, being confident about it, and accepting the results.
2. Cultivate self-awareness. Know your strengths and limitations, so you can delegate effectively. Being self-aware helps you take feedback into account and adjust your approach appropriately.
3. Communicate effectively. Articulate the reasoning behind decisions, making your own decision-making processes transparent. This gives them guidelines so you can light the way toward expected outcomes.
4. Be adaptable. Especially if you’ve been in your role for a long time, it’s likely that you make decisions intuitively by now. Others might not do it the way you would. Being adaptable means understanding that there are many ways to succeed and letting them find their way.
By embodying these qualities, you can lay the groundwork so your team values decisiveness. Engaging with an executive coach can accelerate your results.
Transform Your Ops Team: The 8 Key Elements of a Decisive Team Culture
From there, building a culture where everyone is able to make quick, good decisions takes intention and time. When I’ve seen it done right, these eight factors are in place:
- A Clear Vision: Everyone knows the team's goals. This makes it easier for people to make decisions.
- Appropriate Delegation: People with the right skills, knowledge and authority have decision-making duties.
- Clear Boundaries: Decision-makers know their limits and how much risk is okay. This helps prevent taking on too much.
- Effective Communication Channels: Everyone involved is well-informed and encouraged to provide feedback.
- Training & Development: You've got clear decision criteria and resources to improve decision-making.
- Empowerment: Team members feel safe and don’t worry about harsh consequences for honest mistakes.
- Accountability: There are after-action reviews where the team can celebrate success and learn how to make better choices in the future.
- Trust: Team members feel their leaders believe in them, so they’re more likely to take action on their own.
Empowering your team to be more decisive takes a thoughtful approach. By incorporating these elements, you can set your team up for success.
If you’d like to hear more about how to empower your team, I suggest listening to episode 9, “How Ops Execs Break the 'Move Over I'll Drive' Habit”. You’ll find it at yourfuturerealized.com/9.
I’ll leave you with this question: How can you model strong decision-making that fits your way of leading and inspires your team to do the same?
You can’t stop the chaos, but you can change the game.