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Leaders make decisions. This article can help you make better decisions by distinguishing between two fundamental types of issues. Leadership decisions generally fall into two broad categories:  (1) What will we do? (2) Who are we? Better leadership decisions can occur when the leader adapts his or her decision making process to the type of decision at hand.

What will we do?

This question deals with problems. Problems are issues resolved through analysis and technical solutions. Furthermore, other persons or organizations facing the same issue could apply these solutions. For example, sales are falling - what will we do? There are standard techniques that could be applied to the problem of falling sales such as cutting prices, aggressive marketing, or customer rewards programs.

How to think about problems

Problems require analytical thinking. Define the issue. Break the issue down into manageable sub-issues. Look for technical solutions. Apply available knowledge, skill, and resources toward solutions. Don’t forget to leverage the knowledge, skill, and resources of other persons, teams, or organizations that demonstrate expertise in dealing with similar issues.

Who are we?

This question deals with identity. When an organization articulates its vision, its values, its purpose, or its mission, it creates an identity. Responses to these issues are unique to the organization asking the question. An example is the question, “What is our company’s vision for the next five years?” The answer to this question necessarily requires speculation about our corporate identity and how “we” could change in the next five years. The response of your company will be unique in contrast to how other companies would respond to the same question.  Gabriel Marcel refers to identity issues as mysteries.

How to think about mysteries

Mysteries are not unknowable. The mystery lies in the fact that these issues are open-ended. The same person or organization can ask the same question on different occasions and arrive at different conclusions. For example, the question “What is our company’s vision for the next five years?” could be asked every five years and yield a different response each time. Mysteries require a holistic approach to decision making. When faced with a mystery, effective decision making involves others in a participatory process that yields a collaborative understanding of “who we are” or “who we want to be.” Responses to mysteries produce rich descriptions that form a foundation for future actions.

What’s in it for you?

You can make better leadership decisions by asking, “Is the issue at hand a problem - what will we do? or a mystery - who are we?” If your issue is a problem, define it and analytically take the issue down to its constitutive elements. Find and apply appropriate technical solutions through knowledge, skill, and resources available to your organization and its networks. If your issue is a mystery, engage stakeholders inside and outside the organization, as appropriate, in a participatory process to examine the issue. Construct a synthesis of your collective knowledge that yields a rich understanding of who your organization is or who your organization wants to be.

Copyright (c) 2009 Jeff R. Hale

Works Cited

Marcel Gabriel (1951), The Mystery of Being, Vol.1: Reflection and Mystery. Translated by G. S. Fraser. London: The Harvill Press.