This is the comment king phase of my LinkedIn life | Posts are very rare these days, but comments will be many
"Who told you that you can make that decision?" I can feel my eye twitch even by typing up this question, but not because it isn't a valid ask. It is annoying because people tend to forget about the power they yield until they have to be reminded of it - repeatedly. Often in my experience, you want people to make a decision first and then assess the situation on why it happened after. This helps contributors and operators feel more in tune with quality as well as have confidence they have the backing of leadership. But, every once in a while, this turns into a silly little game people play because they don't understand dynamics and instead want to prove a point. -------- I had to deal with this recently as I was asked this question. I let the person know this decision would happen 100% of the time in every situation because of my position as a member of the quality assurance team. Even if it turned out to be a false positive, it only delayed the request by an hour and drew the attention to everyone to make sure the problem was addressed. "Yes, but who gave you the authority?" This was a fishing question, of course. There was a bigger game afoot that I don't tend to play. I replied my position empowers me to do so as the advocate for the customer in what they want. "Ah, but who in this building told you it was okay to make a decision?" It was going to be one of those mornings. --------- We make choices every day. We rarely audit why they happen. We don't understand the complexity or the layers to each decision, sure. We aren't playing 18D chess with a time lord either. The real issue isn't the decision. The issue is the decision wasn't reached by a committee. The choice wasn't made by putting the idea through the carwash and giving it the ol' rinse through because ten other people need to know about the question. Those ten people have no influence on the decision, of course. They just need to know. And "just needing to know" often isn't enough when it comes to advocating for the customer's interest and stopping a crisis. Especially if the customer is you! --------- I take comfort in the fact I will always default to a decision and direct traffic for what I need. I try not to overstep my bounds too often, but when it comes to preventing a million dollar error, I will always be happy with the results. Especially when it comes to a million dollar save. So, when someone asked you who gave you the authority to think for yourself or make a decision, note this isn't because you are a bad person for doing so. You aren't playing the game they want. And that is okay. You'll play the game on everything else. But a good decision is not one of them. -------- Photo by Burst on Unsplash Do you have any examples like this? Let me know below! Be sure to share, like, and say hi. I won't question why you said hi because you made a great choice!
Bella Go
8mo
Matthew Eaton, CAPM Good share
Project Leadership Success Coach - Empowering your organization's project managers to deliver confidently and strategically ❇️ Global Speaker ❇️ 2x Top Top Voice ❇️ Consultant ❇️ Past PMI Chapter Board Member
8moThose are tough situations Matthew Eaton, CAPM! Political games of these sorts gives me fits. (Especially when the expectations aren't clear or the logic is completely flawed). It's like a mini-Game of Thrones in a battle of power, ego, status, and greed. What I tend to default to is asking questions to better understand where this is coming from to center in on their core issue (that's usually hidden). "How did the decision I made, impact you?"