Why Great Leaders make bad decisions

The week that has ended has seen Kenyans wait for the president’s address to the nation with bated breath. The anxiety and anticipation were evident. The frenzy in social media with all manner of memes was palpable.

There were many questions in the minds of the citizenry. Would the travel restrictions as a result of the containment orders be eased or done away with altogether? What about the curfew?

Everyone’s attention was on one man, the president of the Republic of Kenya to make and communicate a decision.

On Saturday morning, one of the tweeps requested others to address the president formally and be kind to him and not refer to him by an unofficial name or title in an attempt to sway his decision.

Decision making is part of our daily lives, whether personal or professional. While some decisions are small, domestic, and innocuous, others are more important, affecting people’s lives, livelihoods, and well-being.

Even with the best of intentions, made by intelligent, responsible people with the best information, we inevitably make mistakes along the way.Leaders face the daunting task of making challenging decisions daily.

Making decisions such as the strategic direction for their organisations or choosing whether to keep an employee, reposition them or let them go are just a few of the choices leaders need to make often.

Great leaders understand the need to balance emotion with reason and make decisions that will have a positive impact on themselves, their employees, their customers and stakeholders, and their organisations.

Making the right decisions in challenging circumstances is no easy task because these types of decisions often involve change, uncertainty, anxiety, stress, and sometimes the unfavourable and occasionally unexpected reactions of others.

A story from the Hebrew Bible in which King Solomon of Israel ruled between two women both claiming to be the mother of a child is an example of tough choices that leaders face every day.

Two mothers living in the same house, each the mother of an infant son, came to Solomon. One of the babies had been smothered, and each claimed the remaining boy as her own.

Calling for a sword, Solomon declared his judgment: the baby would be cut in two, each woman to receive half. One mother did not contest the ruling, stating that if she could not have the baby, then neither of them could, but the other begged Solomon, “Give the baby to her, just don’t kill him!”

The king declared the second woman, the true mother, as a mother would even give up her baby if that were necessary to save its life.
This judgment became known throughout all of Israel and was considered an example of profound wisdom.

Why great leaders make bad decisions?

1. Depending on previous experiences.

Many leaders find themselves in a position of leadership as a result of their track record. Our track record can be a hindrance to good decision making.

2. Making decisions that are politically motivated

These make it difficult to make objective decisions and manage the core responsibilities at hand. Leaders who fall victim to the political trap often lose their identity and get sucked into other people’s agendas and motives.

More often than not, these motives are not aligned with their beliefs. Over time, these leaders find themselves making poor decisions to keep a lousy relationship alive (though at the time the leader believes it is an excellent decision to enhance a politically-connected relationship).

3. Arrogance.

When leaders wholeheartedly believe they are right even in the face of conflicting information, they are less willing to listen to and incorporate other people’s knowledge and expertise into their decisions explaining why great leaders make bad decisions.

4. Lack of clarity of purpose.

It’s challenging to make good decisions when you don’t know what you stand for. Clarity of purpose enables you to make decisions that are true and consistent with the organisation’s mission and vision.

5. Lack of critical information.

Leaders that make good decisions are continuously strengthening their ability to gain access to the right information, statistics, trends and insights available from great resources – and know when to engage them to make timely decisions that positively impact the greater good.

6. Lack of courage.

Leaders must have the courage to make unpopular decisions if they are in line with the mission and vision of the organisation and for the common good.

It is not just to your organisation to make decisions based on popularity. And neither should you try to convince people to like your decisions.It is okay for some people to disagree with your decisions.

7. Blind loyalty and power.

Leaders make bad decisions when they allow blind loyalty to affect their decision-making process.
At the same time, leaders who accumulate power can develop unwarranted confidence in their abilities especially when they surround themselves with “yes” people who have built a reputation for agreeing with any decision the leader recommends.

What are the consequences of poor decision making?

When a leader ignores the signals and makes bad decisions, they generate the consequences of bad decisions. Misery and disappointment are guaranteed both for themselves and others.

Most often, the effects of bad decisions include, the leader compromising themselves. They don’t get what they want, or they do get what they want but at the expense of others, which damages the relationship.
Bad decisions lead to anxiety, distress and guilt. Leaders have to learn lessons the hard way in addition to time wasted, either having to go back and clean up or doing unnecessary things. Some bad decisions have a high financial cost to the leader or organisation they lead.

How do leaders avoid or minimise bad decisions?

In as much as it may not be possible to eliminate bad decisions, they can be reduced significantly. Some of the safeguards to bad decisions include:
• Leaders to consider as much information as possible before making decisions.
• Ensure there is a defined decision-making process that challenges entrenched views.
• Include a governance team to stand in the way of any flawed judgments that make it past the decision team.
• Put in place a special ongoing monitoring and reporting process from the beginning of the decision-making process.

Decision making is at the heart of leadership, and any attempt to delegate this responsibility to avoid making bad decision disqualifies themselves from the very role for which they were called to do.

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