At some point, each of us has to make a critical decision. In this year of Covid, all the more! Critical decisions can seem never ending forced by pandemic, recession, legislation, politics, technology, and in the case of the last year, all the above!
Critical issues and decisions needed come at us fast. Going forward my bet’s the pace of critical decisions is not going to slow down. The need for speed in effective decision making is the real “new normal.”
If clarity in chaos is the goal, two questions top my list:
- How do I or my team get clarity in chaos?
- How do I and my team make good decisions at speed, under pressure?
From experience over decades, here’s an approach that has worked for my clients regardless of industry, segment location, or size, all the more in chaos:
Realize Everyone Has Values. Values drive behavior and decision making.
The values each of us hold are the outcome of life events and the learning and beliefs that show up in behaviors, effective or not. Our values at a gut level (read: beliefs) guide behaviors that end up by default as decisions. As often as not, “values” are alluded to, not defined clearly and get left to what we tend to call, “common sense.”
Tracking values for a living, I make the case one’s real values show up as behaviors under stress. “Dignity and respect” is easy to talk about when the “water’s calm”, or we laugh off, “sarcasm is just joking”, … how do you and I behave in “a hurricane,” or in when with no fault of our own, our business is shut down due to pandemic?
A major pitfall with values left to common sense is this: What’s obvious to an owner or manager, is not so obvious to a person with a different life experience or background.
Worse, when left undefined, under stress one set of values overrides another. Partners, board, leaders, team, even family, are left to “figure it out” in real time. Decision making gets very inconsistent, muddy, and even crazy making.
What’s the alternative? The more clearly we define, share and model values and do so consistently, the more people around us can join us and step into performance guided by those shared values.
Another outcome of clearly defined values used in active decision-making is this: the folks that don’t agree with those values can opt out quickly, or better yet never join us in the first place.
Action 1: Each of us has a choice in our Values.
The more conscious, “awake” and mindful you and I are as leaders, the easier it is to evaluate the effectiveness of the values we espouse. Is there a defined value about fiscal health, a value about growth or training, a value about our communication or the ways in which we treat each other? Yes? You have the equivalent of a leadership GPS. No? Your left adrift to shouting opinions, the loudest voice, the biggest bully, biggest shareholder, or fear that leads to drama.
This begs the question, Is the drama or mis-understood meaning from sarcasm really something we value, or could we be more effective? Do we have a value specific to accountability instead of finger pointing and blame?
I often use an analogy of my company or yours being a water balloon. As you apply pressure on one side, notice it just plops out on the other. Values in action hold the balloon (the company) as a whole, expanding or contracting evenly as a whole system. The end goal for clear decision-making is effectiveness. Do the values held get us where we want and need to go? Are we moving toward our defined vision or at least in the direction of our vision? A jet in the air is only on course 4% of the time, there is constant course correction, so too in our case, even in chaos.
Action 2: Conscious Practice Makes Perfect! Gain Clarity and Calm in Chaos
Like a professional sports team, world class orchestra or dance company or frankly, like the military, the more we practice a skill set, the more competent we become. Active experiential practice in actively using our values in decision making gets that decision making to speed on a daily basis.
In most cultures, populations allude to “our values” as a collective more than define them specifically or more, use them actively in dialogue or decision making. The root point of my offering here is that we have another option. We can actively use our values in real time as decision making tools and in dialogue. That is, we have the option to practice clarity, practice using values in real time, under pressure. I call this, “using values as verbs” instead of nouns. With this choice values can actually guide behaviors in real time. The more you and I practice this, the more effective we get.
No surprise.
IVS™ (Issue/Values/Solution)
Here’s an example: When a manager, staff member or board has to make a decision, ask two questions: 1. Which Values apply? 2. What are the behaviors that support that value in action? Hint: the more values we name, the stronger and more long lasting the decision will be.
Now, ponder this: As an alternative to a values conflict which is a concept many leaders talk about, act with values integration. Here’s an example: While fiscal health is a value and a must, so too are “environmental health” and “active participation in our community.” From experience we know in pandemic and economic recession chaos reigns. In this scenario we also know cutting costs is an immediate must. The default habit is likely one of values conflict and that “fiscal health” tramples anything else. At the same time, there is an opportunity to use existing inventory or labor in ways that reach out to the neighborhood in sustainable ways and actually build sales instead of losing sales. Can we make a decision that integrates the best of ourselves and all three values of fiscal health, environment and community instead of one or none? The short answer is yes. And in fact, some business leaders did so, while others simply froze in the chaos from fear or some other catalyst.
With Purpose, Vision and Values intact, any issue that comes at us, is aligned through Values in action and an IVS™ approach. What does operating at 25% or 50% capacity mean? At first cut, the response is likely, business is not designed to survive at 25% capacity. Quickly, the clarity and use of operating values to make choices that act on purpose to align with vision AND remain solvent is a tangible outcome in case after
case. For those without said tools, the likely hood of survival has been close to zero. Those with tools have survived and thrived. Full circle, next issue, what actions do we take? What must our behaviors be or how must they shift to maximize performance? Values guide and make behaviors, read: decisions, clear and expedient and effective.
Last, with defined values used on a regular basis, you and I have the opportunity to include the whole team in our decision-making process. You may push back here, however time and again, even in this last “pandemic year,” I’ve watched folks as young as 16 – 26 behave far beyond their years, with the maturity of board members and investors. How? Re-read from top to bottom. Instead of relying on common sense, go to values integration with a clear goal in mind. IVS™, two questions: 1. Which values apply to support our purpose and vision? 2. What are the behaviors that support successful implementation of that value, each value and our purpose to accomplish this vision, this mission? Try it. I invite you to watch and experience an outcome of ownership attitude in your team when these two simple questions get asked and implemented.
The more clearly your values are actionable, the more we practice, voicing values and behaviors in real time, decisions get made at speed, in real time, regardless of the issue: reduce the inventory, tighten production, how do we build a new pickup line? etc. While you may reach a port you never intended, like a plane or ship in a storm, you will land alive and healthy, vessel/company intact, team inspired and tighter than ever! No theory here, the process works. Clarity in Chaos. What a gift it can be.
For more on building a dynamic “Culture by Choice, Not Chance”™, visit miick.com or call us at 303-413-0400. Tap into a free consult with me!
