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They knew to bring their best ideas, have sound reasoning behind their recommendations, and be prepared to do good strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis. They also knew that any and all final decisions would be made by Jarrod.
Most of the time Jarrod's decisions were very sound. Once in a while some of his plans did not go well. This is where you could say there was a breakdown in Jarrod's decision making process. You see Jarrod made a decision once and only once. Once he set a course the team was expected to make it work. Most of the time they did make it work. Sometimes, it just was not going to work. Perhaps the conditions which were in place when the decision was reached were no longer relevant or some element of the plan made sense in the conference room but not in reality. The problem was not Jarrod and it was not the team. Unfortunately Jarrod believed that changing your mind was a sign of weakness. This belief did cause problems for both Jarrod and the team.
What this meant was that the team learned never to go back to Jarrod when a decision needed to be revisited. Sometimes they just kept trying the original plan hoping it would work (picture an entire team of people just banging their heads against a wall). Other times they would report to him that the plan had worked, when in fact they had all banded together and created a new approach. Then they all tried to find ways to report the new approach as-if it was exactly the same as the 'Jarrod approach 'or 'Jarrod decision'. Wow what a sad use of time and energy!
You probably know people like Jarrod. They blindly stick to their initial decisions because they do not want to appear 'flaky' or 'unreliable' or 'irresponsible'. You know what is 'flaky'? Not allowing people to come back to you for help when a decision needs to be reconsidered. Pretending that your decisions never need to be reconsidered is flaky too. Oh and it is also arrogant and unrealistic and it makes you unreliable. You know what is irresponsible? Allowing a group of people to flail about and pretend that they are following a plan that does not work just so that you look good. And by the way you don't look good.
Changing your mind is part of being a leader. Your team needs to see you make decisions and your team needs to see you change those decisions when it is appropriate to do so. Sure, a leader who changes their mind every other day is flaky and is lacking strength. But an inflexible leader is a weak leader too. A leader who stands up in front of the team and says, "You know, this is the decision I made, but I now see that decision needs to be reconsidered." That is a leader to be admired.
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You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Dedicated to helping professionals become free from the work related conflict that prevents them from experiencing peace, Margaret Meloni publishes the 'Turning Point' eZine on a bi-weekly basis. Contact Margaret at info@MargaretMeloni.com.
Jarrod listened to what the team had to say and then he reached a decision. He was very comfortable making decisions and most of his decisions played out well for him and for his team. His decision making style typically involved soliciting input from his most trusted team members and then using that information to determine an action plan. His team knew how he liked to work, so they understood what to expect.
Margaret Meloni is President of
Meloni Coaching Solutions, Inc., a company devoted to helping professionals
become free from the work related conflict that prevents them from having good
working relationships and impacts the quality of their personal
lives.