Empowering a Decision

The power of our decisions can go a long way. And whether you’re a manager or individual contributor, we all have opportunities to lead and help empower others.  How you manage your decisions and those that come to you for insight and answers is a powerful learning and leadership opportunity.

Great leaders (or those in training!) will take a moment to think about the decisions they make when answering a question. At Commvault, we are committed to creating a culture of empowerment where people are encouraged to think, grow, and be accountable for their decisions. We are presented with culture-building opportunities every day and part of inspiring each other, one of our core values, is to leverage these moments as team development opportunities.

Here are some questions to ask yourself before answering a question from your team member or colleague:

• Is there an opportunity for the person asking the question to learn something new? Provide assistance and support where needed, but let them make the call so they can grow.
• Is there an opportunity to experiment and innovate? If making the wrong decision will have minimal impact on the larger project, see if there’s an option to try new ideas or experiment with a couple of options and measure which option works best,
• Is there value (time, resources, etc.) in allowing the person to discover new or different answers? Would discovery mean meeting new people in the company, experimenting and exploring outside solutions, doing some best-practices research, etc.?
• Is it just your opinion or a preference that is being solicited, meaning there’s no actual right or wrong answer? If so, use this opportunity to get the other person to offer their thoughts and ideas. Ask them to support their recommendation and have a conversation about why this decision is best for the stakeholders.

Empower others to not only make a decision but feel good about their approach post-decision making. By celebrating the responsibility of making a decision, you instill a vote of confidence in someone’s ability to exercise their leadership on a topic or idea and help inspire self-reflection. Ask them questions such as: What insights led you to recommend this solution over others? What did you learn about yourself or your decision-making approach in the process?

And of course, at the end of the day, we also must remember the power of “Both-And” thinking. Projects, processes, and decisions are often made up of hundreds of smaller decisions. It is possible to BOTH empower someone to make decisions AND suggest a few of your own.

Next time someone approaches you for a decision, see how you can draw on these tips and tricks to inspire innovation, leadership, and engagement.

To learn more about Commvault’s culture, click here.