The most important part of leadership is deciding.
Deciding which direction to go. Deciding which choice to make. Deciding what project not to put resources behind. Deciding what idea not to pursue.
But making decisions isn’t the most difficult part of deciding. Each of us make decisions every day. We have preferences. We have interests. We make choices.
The most difficult part of deciding is discerning how decisions should be made. Is this a decision you can make on your own? Is this one you need to run past your supervisor? Is this one for which you need team buy-in? Is this one you need to confer with a donor before making?
Involving others in the decision-making process never means giving up the responsibility to make the ultimate decision. It simply means we recognize that some decisions are best made after others are invited to offer their perspective.
