SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 210,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our e-newsletter.
How well do you communicate decisions and manage change?
- Very — My decisions are clear and I manage change well: 39%
- Somewhat — Most decisions are clear and I get through making change: 55%
- Not very — My decisions could be clearer and I struggle with change: 5%
- Not at all — My decisions are rarely executed effectively: 1%
The decision is just the start. All too often we mistakenly believe that once we’ve made a decision, things are final. Allow me to introduce the concept of “execution risk” – the possibility a decision you’ve made isn’t executed correctly or at all. Without proper change management, the execution risk you face can be quite high especially for controversial decisions. There are two key ways to minimize execution risk – effective communications and active change management. Make sure you invest in doing those well if you want to see your decisions carried out the way you expect them to be.
Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, author of the upcoming book “The Elegant Pitch: Create a Compelling Recommendation, Build Broad Support, and Get it Approved” and “One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.”