The November issue of the Harvard Business Review has an article on decision making (A Leader's Framework for Decision Making) in which the authors, David F. Snowden and Mary E. Boone, make the case that business situations fall into different categories (stable, complicated, complex, and chaotic) each of which requires different decision-making approaches.

Makes sense, doesn't it? If the situation changes, the approach a leader takes should change, too, right?

And yet, many leaders don't do that - they don't modify their approach to making decisions when the situation changes. I've seen leaders who, instead of modifying their approaches to meet the demands of the situation, rely on the same way of making a decision no matter what the circumstance is.

Why is that? Why do leaders stick to the same tried- and-true methods of deciding when the facts have changed?

There are several reasons. For instance, leaders rely on what's worked before. This makes sense, some of the time. If the situation is similar to previous situations the leader has experienced, it is logical and appropriate to use tried-and-true approaches.

The problem, of course, is that in today's world, the situations are more often unfamiliar and unclear. Why, then, do leaders still persist in sticking to the old ways of doing things?

Some leaders believe, albeit erroneously, that the situation they're confronting is not all that different and that a new approach is not needed.

Other leaders believe that what has worked in the past will, once again, work now, even though the situation is no longer the same. Their confidence and/or hubris is so great that they assume they'll be able to make the right decision without having to change their approach despite the changes inherent in the situation.

Still other leaders have not recognized or are oblivious to the extent to which things have changed and, as a result, don't see the need for a new approach.

And some leaders, while they may recognize that things have changed, don't rethink their approach to making a decision. The lack of time and the pressure of dealing with an overwhelming number of other decisions prevent them from choosing another approach.

Finally, a few leaders fail to rethink their approach because they don't know how to do anything else - they are unable to change approaches. They are stuck. It's not that they are self-assured, or unaware, or overwhelmed - they just know only one way and that way is all they are capable of using. They're incapable of changing their approach.

What about you? How do you know whether it's time for a new approach to making a decision?

Here are three questions you can ask to determine if it might be time to rethink how you decide:

Have you found yourself avoiding making a decision because of the uncertainty, ambiguity, complexity, or chaotic nature of the situation?

Have you found yourself re-deciding, repeatedly, the decisions you've made because once you make a decision something else crops up to throw your decision off the rails?

Have you found that some of the decisions you've made no longer work out and that, instead of being able to rely on your ability to make sound decisions, your success rate, especially for important decisions, has decreased markedly?

The November 19th issue of Newsweek was dedicated to "America's Best Leaders 2007." Rather than rank leaders, they chose 18 men and women "who excel in their chosen fields but who also embrace the concept of leadership as a broader societal responsibility."

The primary criterion was to select those who motivate people to work collaboratively to accomplish great things. Accomplishing great things is another way of saying that leaders are primarily responsible for making a difference.

What about you? Are you making a difference, accomplishing great things, and engaging others collaboratively?

The same article details the loss of confidence that Americans have in their leaders. "More than three quarters of the respondents say they believe the country is going through a leadership crisis" and that "today's leaders pale in comparison with those of 20 years ago."

What does that mean for you? Does the lack of confidence in America's leaders spill over to you and your business? Do the people in your organization look on you with the same skepticism and concern with which Americans look on their public leaders?

One key measure of determining if you have earned the confidence of those in your organization is to assess the extent to which they believe you know about and are taking steps to address their most pressing issues and interests. Ignorance of or lack of concern for their interests will undermine their confidence in you.

What have you done, recently, to assess, understand, and address the primary needs and concerns of the people in your business?

email: archie@archietinelli.com archie@archietinelli.com