Mind Gap: Decision-Making As A Leader

I had the opportunity several years ago to sit in on a presentation to a group of senior leaders. The exhibition was from a speaker who uses Civil War history to teach leadership lessons. 

As someone who was required to take Military History as part of my high school curriculum, I can tell you that military battles offer great insights into leadership successes and failures. So I was excited to hear the presentation. 

The presentation focused on The Battle of Gettysburg, which began on July 1st, 1863.

During the first hours of battle, the Major General John F. Reynolds was killed while leading his troops from the front. While out-numbered, the Union forces were stymied for a time, and it took a while for them to regroup.

After sharing the story of the early hours of that famous battle, the presenter asked the assembled group of senior leaders whether or not General Reynolds made the right decision in leading from the front. He had exposed himself to enemy fire and left his troops without his leadership.

The leadership team in the room had differing opinions about the wisdom of General Reynold's decision.

• Some thought it better if he had "lead from the rear," thus protecting himself from direct conflict.

They felt that he jeopardized the mission by putting himself in harm's way. You could see their point considering that his death did seem to slow down the Union forces for a time. 

• Others thought he showed authentic leadership by putting himself out front.

Their point was that a leader should not ask their people to do something that they as a leader were unwilling to do. They also pointed out that his decision was proven correct since the Union forces eventually won. Also, a good point. 

Here is what I truly found fascinating: Most had an opinion. 

Despite having very little information about how the battle unfolded, they had this opinion. There were a lot of "gaps" in the story of the battle as presented. Note: I am sure the presenter did that mainly in the interest of time.

• So how did this room full of top leaders come to an opinion with so little information?
• How did they know if General Reynolds had made the right decision despite the "gaps" in the story?

They did what all leaders...all people do when they need to make a decision without all available information: They filled in the gaps with information from their own experiences. 

As I observed these key leaders offer their opinions, I knew immediately which ones would accept risk in a decision and which ones would be more cautious. Maybe, too conservative to lead in difficult circumstances. 

Those who believed that General Reynolds had made the right call were willing to accept some level of risk. But unfortunately, those who thought he had made the wrong call likely were not willing to accept that same level of risk. 

If time had permitted and the presenter had filled in the gaps himself, the audience would not have needed to supplant the story with their own experiences. In that case, I would not have been able to assess their appetite for risk. 

This same scenario plays out in organizations all the time. Leaders at all levels in an organization make decisions. Even when they do not have all the information they wish to make an informed decision, these decisions are made. Leaders use experiences from their life history to fill in the gaps. 

That is why two smart people...presented with identical, if incomplete information, can reach such differing conclusions. 

As a leader, you must know your people well. The more you know them, and especially the better you understand them, the better you will know how they process information and use their own experiences to fill in the gaps to make decisions.

You must understand yourself and how you also "gap fill." 

Understanding how you and your people mind their gaps will help you see how two very different conclusions could seem correct.

Leaders will tell you it is vital to make an informed decision. The best way to make an informed decision is to have as much information about a given situation and know about the people presenting the information. 

As to General Reynolds, he knew that his goal was not dying for the North. His ultimate goal was to make as many Confederate troops die for the South. Union casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg were 23,000, while the Confederates had lost some 28,000 men–more than a third of General Lee's army.

Do you think General Reynolds was successful??