Making difficult decisions: considerations and challenges to consider

Here are some tips on how to navigate the pressures of big decisions as a leader 

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Management Today

The pressures faced by leaders in organisations seem to be never-ending. On top of trying to build back their organisation, post-pandemic, they’re contending with retaining talent, navigating the new world of hybrid working and making sure their diversity and inclusion policies are up to par – to name but a few. 

These so-called ‘mega threats’, where organisational and societal identities become blurred and lead to polarisation, are on the rise. At the same time, “leaders are having to interpret the pace at which things are changing. Some believe we’re going too fast and others believe we’re not going fast enough,” Roy Diggory, head of solutions strategy at Mind Gym explained during MT’s Leadership Lessons conference.

Navigating these pressures is par for the course of being a successful CEO, as is making difficult decisions around relevant policies, but there are four ways that leaders can ensure morals are at the heart of those decisions.

Don’t over rely on your moral compass

Public concerns around the disparity between behaviour and ethical moral decisions being put in place in organisations are on the rise; this is why Dominnique Karetsos, founder of Healthy Pleasure Group, says it isn’t good enough for leaders to only use their own moral compass when making decisions. 

Over the past 10 years, our nation has gone through wars, climate change, COVID-19 and other global threats to humanity; yet people of different genders, races, classes have experienced these events very differently. Just look at the nationwide lockdown; some people were left isolated, some struggled in flat shares, and others had to juggle work with home schooling. As a leader, your view on the right course of action will always be biased by your own experience.

Leaders, therefore, need to consider the broader moral compass of their workforce when it comes to making decisions for their organisations. This can be done simply by listening to employees, shareholders, consumers and peers.

Give agency

“No longer is leadership this paternalistic idea of responsibility,” says Ruth Turner, senior director at the Forward Institute, where those in charge would do the right thing by us and for us. “Now, our expectations have shifted and, often, we don’t want other people making decisions for us, even if it’s the right decision. We want to have agency when decisions are being made and have our views taken into account. The same goes for employees.” 

Leaders are constantly being bombarded with things that seem totally opposing; they’re being told to perform today, but innovate tomorrow, meet performance targets – but look after the wellbeing of their employees, acknowledge individuals and also look after the organisation as a whole. Instead, leaders could give some agency to workers, when it comes to conflicting decision-making. 

Know that not everyone will be on board

“I think what’s going to be really critical for leaders is how they navigate these tensions. Research shows that, often, leaders will see these and experience cognitive dissonance. They’ll want to pick a side and ignore the other responsibilities and hope they’ll go away,” Roy Diggory says. Really, there will always be workers who oppose leadership decisions. Instead of ignoring them, (or worse, causing offence) leaders must communicate controversial choices in a way that doesn’t trivialise the issues. 

Justifications like ‘If we could do something we could, but we can’t,’ or ‘It’s not as bad as everyone says it is’ are best avoided. Leaders should pause, notice what’s going on, and think through all the ways they could respond before actually responding. 

Lead with fairness

It’s critical that leaders lead with fairness as, without this, you are in danger of creating a lack of morality within the organisation. “It’s a knock-on effect,” Roy Diggory warns. A study that looked at a manufacturing plant where wages were reduced by 15% showed that thefts rose by five per cent. When these changes were sensitively handled, and thoroughly explained, thefts rose by only two percent.

So, whatever decisions you need to make in your organisation, make sure you are leading with fairness to avoid a workforce whose morality is as lacking as that of its leader.