If Nobody Wants to Make a Decision,Then Who Makes the Decision?
Joel Elveson
My successes as a recruiter are intertwined with the achievements of those I have helped.
If Nobody Wants to Make a Decision, Then Who Makes the Decision?In every aspect in life at some point a decision or decisions will have to be made. Some will be of the “life changing variety” while others will have different ramifications. Being the deciding or final decision maker maybe a very enticing proposition to some, to others being in that position scares them to the point where they shy away from any part in the process altogether. If nobody wants to make a decision then who makes the decision?
Ultimately somebody has to (and will) come up with a decision. Rarely has there been a decision that had to made but was left to sit due to the fact there wasn’t anybody that was qualified enough and willing to step-forward to bring the matter to a close. On jury trials if no consensus verdict is reached after several attempts to do so a mistrial is declared necessitating a new trial with a new jury.
Often times people will shy away from decision-making as all the necessary pertinent facts are not provided or clear. Without verified facts a fair and just decision cannot be made. Few will want to be thrust into that situation. Once all facts are made clear it will be easier to put a proper system in place whereupon a decision can reached as expediently as possible.
The question that often arises after a decision is made is “was that a wise decision?” Therein lies a big part of the problem as well. After going through their checks and balance that led to the decision that was made there is the fear that they will be subject to doubt. There will always be somebody or even a group who questions the wisdom of a decision that was made even though by choice they were not actively involved in the decision-making process.
Your right to openly question any decision made by almost anybody is inalienable. In the instance above where you made a conscious decision not to involve yourself in the process subjecting people to your doubt or criticism destroys any credibility you would have had if you had participated. “Monday morning” quarter backs have yet to win any games.
In actuality my article title question as to what happens if nobody wants to make a decision then who makes the decision is for the most part a moot point. Almost any type of organization you can think of will have a board of sometime who will make their recommendation to the person who has been duly empowered to adjudicate these matters who will do so. This person may want his advisors to come up with more suggestions or provide more concrete facts but at the end of the day a decision will be rendered.
The oft talked about “leader” may not be adept at decision-making. Some are and some are not. Leadership and solid decision-making are not always synonymous with each other. You may have demonstrated an ability to lead but do you have the capacity to (if necessary) make decisions “on the fly?” If you cannot size up a situation with diligent thinking chances are you cannot make decisions.
It would not be fair nor accurate to say that once a decision is made it cannot be reversed. The ideal scenario is to make a decision and stick with it. Continually changing your mind will always bring your decision-making skills into question. When cases arise that your decision that has far-reaching effects and is subject to question then you will have to let the arbitrary proceedings run their course.
In those cases where your decision is overturned you should not automatically interpret it to mean you made a bad decision. Depending on the circumstances your decision may have been fundamentally correct but unappealing to enough people that they were able to muster enough support to return things back to their original state. Bear in mind you are not the first person this has ever happened to nor will you be the last. Once the reversal judgment has been made it is not prudent to rehash things repeatedly in your mind to determine if there was a different approach or course you could have taken that led to your decision.
Decisions are not always popular. People’s lives are effected by them. In the final analysis somebody has to make them and will make them irrespective to the fact that nobody wants to make them. Not wanting to make a decision and being incapable or even resistive to decision-making are all part of the difficulty this need presents. Incapability may be excusable while being unwilling is not.
Maximize your opportunity’s to make decisions but remind yourself you do not have to decide everything on your own. Build up your own personal support network to assist you as do other multi-tiered structures. Successful decision makers go far in life.
My successes as a recruiter are intertwined with the achievements of those I have helped.
9 年Thank you Jonathan for your kind words not to mention for the poem you generously shared.
Advisor/Consultant - International Business Development
9 年Thank you Joel for a thought provoking post. I am sure that most will have heard of the poem most probably written by Charles Oogood titled "The Responsibility Poem" There was a most important job that needed to be done, And no reason not to do it, there was absolutely none. But in vital matters such as this, the thing you have to ask Is who exactly will it be who’ll carry out the task? Anybody could have told you that Everybody knew That this was something Somebody would surely have to do. Nobody was unwilling; Anybody had the ability. But Nobody believed that it was their responsibility. It seemed to be a job that Anybody could have done, If Anybody thought he was supposed to be the one. But since Everybody recognized that Anybody could, Everybody took for granted that Somebody would. But Nobody told Anybody that we are aware of, That he would be in charge of seeing it was taken care of. And Nobody took it on himself to follow through, And do what Everybody thought that Somebody would do. When what Everybody needed so did not get done at all, Everybody was complaining that Somebody dropped the ball. Anybody then could see it was an awful crying shame, And Everybody looked around for Somebody to blame. Somebody should have done the job And Everybody should have, But in the end Nobody did What Anybody could have. I believe that behind the seeming play on words, there is some great advice of the importance of taking personal responsibility for our own success and happiness If we want to create the life and career success we want, then we should not be like Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. We ought to be true to ourselves and take responsibility for our life and our success, our happiness and our future. We should not let Everybody, Somebody, Anybody or Nobody stop us from doing what we need to do to create the life we want and deserve. We should take personal responsibility for defining what life and success means to us; take personal responsibility for building our self confidence; take personal responsibility for developing success competencies we need to succeed; take personal responsibility for building and nurturing relationships that will help us create our future. Have a most blessed and rewarding 2016