TIP 7: Value a DIVERSITY OF VIEWS: “Be slow in the deliberation and fast in the execution”
A great leadership TIP to celebrate on Dr. Martin Luther King Day is to hear and value all views. A former CEO at my most recent firm had a saying that we as leaders should “be slow in the deliberation and fast in the execution” so there is time to hear and work through all views and perspective. There’s so much wisdom in those words. Proverbs 15:22 says “plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed”
Clearly getting more input and a diversity of ideas will lead to more possible actions and likely to a better decision and outcome. As a leader, you have put together a team of competent leaders in their own rights. They have lots of diverse work and life experiences, bringing different perspectives to solving a problem. Why would leaders not want to hear those diverse perspectives?
There are many benefits to being “slow in the deliberation” and hearing the diverse wisdom of your team in making decisions.
Different perspectives that come from diverse work and life experiences leads to a better decision than you would have come up with on your own. I’ve been in meetings many times where I felt strongly on a plan of action, only to hear other opinions and ideas that led to a far better plan than mine - and I walked away fully embracing the alternative plan.
Broader buy-in comes from ongoing team discussion and deliberation. And with stronger buy-in comes greater leadership conviction, effort, and collaboration in executing the plan.
Great team pride and appreciation also comes from hearing the wisdom of peers. When the ideas of a diverse set of leaders around the table are brought together into a great plan, leaders feel proud to be part of the decision making process and there’s a certain pride that comes from working together.
You team members feel valued as well when they sincerely sense that you as a leader want to hear their view and are open to acting upon it. This is one of the “intangibles” that helps to retain top talent.
So as a leader, work hard to put together a diverse team and to hear the views of your team members before making key decisions. At my prior firm, we used an approach I really liked for its clarity. The leader at the start of the discussion would say “who had the D” (decision) and “who had the I” (input). Sometimes the leader would decide that the team had the D, in which case the team would wrestle with the issue (often without the leader even there) until they came up with the best team solution. Other times the leader would say “I have the D and you all have the I” in which case the leader was asking for all the opinions and debate of the team members and the leader reserved the decision for herself. Having the team know at the onset of the discussion (often clearly defined in the meeting agenda) what the decision making process would be was very helpful in setting expectations.
Another aspect to keep in mind is that your team is likely composed of extraverts and introverts. Most teams hear a lot from their extraverts and miss some really great thinking that comes from the introverts. This is a big miss since in my experience, the introverts are often the deeper and more strategic thinkers. They come up with great ideas when they have time to reflect on the issues and formulate their opinions. To make sure to get the most from your introverts, send the material well in advance of the meeting so they have time to think and reflect on it. Let them know in advance that you really want their contributions on the issue and then make sure to ask their views at the meeting when the debate is happening and decisions are being made.
Following these few tips will help your team to come to better decisions and also lead to greater buy-in and engagement, all leading to better business outcomes. And remember to allow the deliberation to happen in it’s time, so you hear all the views and the team can hash it all out. Once the hard work of making the decision concludes, get everyone to execute the plan with speed, collaboration and maximum effort.