Decision-makers: Evolve or Fail

February 6, 2006 (Computerworld) Did you ever wonder why that firecracker IT supervisor who got promoted to manager crashed and burned? In this month's Harvard Business Review, Kenneth R. Brousseau, Gary Hourihan, Rikard Larsson and the late Michael J. Driver explain how successful decision-makers change their styles as they move up the career ladder. Brousseau, CEO of Decision Dynamics, which develops behavioral assessment technology, and Hourihan, global president of Korn/Ferry International's leadership consulting business, talked with Kathleen Melymuka about the need to evolve your decision-making style to fit your situation.

Kenneth R. Brousseau, CEO of Decision Dynamics

Your decision-making matrix is made up of combinations of two fundamental styles. Tell me about the first: how people use information.

Brousseau: Some people grab the most pertinent facts and make their decision. They know there may be more information, but they feel that the information at hand is sufficient. Other people want to be sure they haven't missed important details that may change their understanding. So they hold out [until] their efforts to uncover new information aren't turning up anything very new.

The other fundamental style involves how people create options.

Brousseau: Some people zero in on one option they see as the best for the situation. Once they do this, they stick with that course of action. Others come up with numerous options. No one course of action seems adequate, so they put several into effect, and they may modify their course along the way as things change.

When and how do managers' decision-making styles begin to change as their careers progress?

Brousseau: The first major transition point occurs when you have other managers as direct reports. Your responsibility has broadened, and the time horizon you're working with has increased. As managers get farther removed from the day-to-day action, they have to rely more on other people for the information they need to make good decisions and be willing to wait and think before jumping to a conclusion. The styles that encourage others to come forward with information are quite different from those that are needed on the front line. The key thing is you start listening more. You also do everything you can to make yourself approachable. You solicit ideas and viewpoints. You show your appreciation to others. It's absolutely essential, or things will happen that you don't know about and you'll make decisions based on the wrong information.

Gary Hourihan, global president of Korn/Ferry International's leadership consulting business

Hourihan: You also need to handle more complex information, because you don't have to wrap everything up by the end of the day. You need an increased ability to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty and absorb a lot of information and see things¿both the forest and the trees. But one attribute that doesn't change is the ability to pull the trigger. We assess a lot of people who have complex, creative thinking but can't make a decision. They fail.

Do all managers go through this same evolution?

Brousseau: When you're promoted, there's a tendency to keep on doing what made you successful. But it doesn't work so well. You crash into walls and become puzzled until the light goes on. Some realize this gradually or get coaching. Some crash and burn. Some move through the management levels without changing. But this takes a toll, and their careers tend to founder at some point.

Hourihan: Either you change or you fail. That's the message here. Coaching or leadership development training at that level is critical.

Tell me about the secondary transition point, where styles change again.

Brousseau: This starts at the director or vice president level, where you need to be very creative to generate a lot of ideas. But as you continue to move up, you need to start thinking more critically and be more focused and put more emphasis on sorting through options and making the right choices, not generating options.

Hourihan: You don't want the CEO saying to the board, "There are several ways we can do this." You want him to say, "We've looked at the alternatives and this is the way we want to go."

What are the implications of your findings for IT managers?

Brousseau: Often, the CIO is more in the creative, "let's look at a lot of options" realm and not as heavy on the action as other senior execs. The CIO needs to realize that the chief executive wants to know what we will do about XYZ, and he needs to articulate that. Otherwise, the CEO thinks the CIO doesn't know what to do.

Hourihan: A lot of CIOs with issues have an inability to see broadly across the spectrum¿to see the business solution side of it. They need to get their thought process out of the vertical silo.

What about the implications of your work for those who develop managers?

Brousseau: They need to help people develop a road map in their organization and note where the nature of the work shifts as people move along in their careers. You need to put the emphasis where it belongs at each stage and realize that things change. The key skill set for up-and-coming managers is to read what situations require of them¿to see when they need to be decision- and action-focused, and when to stop and play with ideas. The key to success is to manage your own style depending on what the situation requires.

Decision-making Styles

People differ in the way they use information and the number of options they consider. Combinations of these approaches produce four distinct decision-making styles. Source: Harvard Business Review

This is the latest in a series of monthly discussions with Harvard Business Review authors on topics of interest to IT managers.