Communication In Decision Making

I was shadowing a coaching client in her leadership meeting when I watched this brilliant woman apologize six times in 30 minutes. 1. “Sorry, this might be off-topic, but..." 2. “I'm could be wrong, but what if we..." 3. “Sorry again, I know we're running short on time..." 4. “I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but..." 5. “This is just my opinion, but..." 6. “Sorry if I'm being too pushy..." Her ideas? They were game-changing. Every single one. Here's what I've learned after decades of coaching women leaders: Women are masterful at reading the room and keeping everyone comfortable. It's a superpower. But when we consistently prioritize others' comfort over our own voice, we rob ourselves, and our teams, of our full contribution. The alternative isn't to become aggressive or dismissive. It's to practice “gracious assertion": • Replace "Sorry to interrupt" with "I'd like to add to that" • Replace "This might be stupid, but..." with "Here's another perspective" • Replace "I hope this makes sense" with "Let me know what questions you have" • Replace "I don't want to step on toes" with "I have a different approach" • Replace "This is just my opinion" with "Based on my experience" • Replace "Sorry if I'm being pushy" with "I feel strongly about this because" But how do you know if you're hitting the right note? Ask yourself these three questions: • Am I stating my needs clearly while respecting others' perspectives? (Assertive) • Am I dismissing others' input or bulldozing through objections? (Aggressive) • Am I hinting at what I want instead of directly asking for it? (Passive-aggressive) You can be considerate AND confident. You can make space for others AND take up space yourself. Your comfort matters too. Your voice matters too. Your ideas matter too. And most importantly, YOU matter. @she.shines.inc #Womenleaders #Confidence #selfadvocacy

As Duarte grew, I’d hear feedback that decisions were made too slowly, which confused me. In reality, we didn’t have a system to recognize when the team was asking for a decision. We thought they were just informing us, so decisions would languish. We weren’t ignoring them, failing to act, or even making incorrect decisions... We just didn’t realize a decision needed to be made in the first place. It dawned on the exec team that the lack of clarity during the conversation is what slows teams down. Leaders and teams can share the same language for decision-making. Much of it is about shaping recommendations that actually lead to the right type of action and making the urgency clear. Here’s the shift that changed everything… We started mapping every decision against two factors: urgency and risk. Low risk, low urgency: Decide without me. Your team runs with it. Low risk, high urgency: Inform on progress. They update you, but keep driving. High risk, low urgency: Propose for approval. They bring a recommendation, and you decide together. High risk, high urgency: Escalate immediately. You're in it together, right now. Once my team understood which quadrant a decision lived in, they knew exactly how to approach me. And I knew exactly what my role was. The framework gave us a shared language. People can’t act on ideas if they don’t understand how decisions are made. Leaders should define how recommendations move from idea to approval to action. That transparency keeps progress from stalling. Remember: One of the biggest threats to your company isn't a lack of good ideas. It's a lack of clarity. #Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #OrganizationalCulture #DecisionMaking

The ability to create clarity when there’s no shortage of chaos, opinions, and competing priorities is a rare skill. In any reasonably competent company, this skill alone will help take you quite far, fairly quickly. Concretely, this means creating clarity on the main problems, clarity on the right solutions, and clarity on the action plan & priorities. Very few people can do this well even though most people possess the intelligence necessary to do it. This is because most people in the workplace have been conditioned to add more information, sound more clever, satisfy more stakeholders, and feign more precision & certainty than is possible. Few understand that clarity in a chaotic situation can only emerge from subtraction, never from addition. Clarity comes from communicating what stands out as most important, why it is most important, how it will be achieved, and last but not the least, giving people a way of thinking about why it is okay, even great, that we aren’t doing All The Other Things.

I was Wrong about Influence. Early in my career, I believed influence in a decision-making meeting was the direct outcome of a strong artifact presented and the ensuing discussion. However, with more leadership experience, I have come to realize that while these are important, there is something far more important at play. Influence, for a given decision, largely happens outside of and before decision-making meetings. Here's my 3 step approach you can follow to maximize your influence: (#3 is often missed yet most important) 1. Obsess over Knowing your Audience Why: Understanding your audience in-depth allows you to tailor your communication, approach and positioning. How: ↳ Research their backgrounds, how they think, what their goals are etc. ↳ Attend other meetings where they are present to learn about their priorities, how they think and what questions they ask. Take note of the topics that energize them or cause concern. ↳ Engage with others who frequently interact with them to gain additional insights. Ask about their preferences, hot buttons, and any subtle cues that could be useful in understanding their perspective. 2. Tailor your Communication Why: This ensures that your message is not just heard but also understood and valued. How: ↳ Seek inspiration from existing artifacts and pickup queues on terminologies, context and background on the give topic. ↳ Reflect on their goals and priorities, and integrate these elements into your communication. For instance, if they prioritize efficiency, highlight how your proposal enhances productivity. ↳Ask yourself "So what?" or "Why should they care" as a litmus test for relatability of your proposal. 3. Pre-socialize for support Why: It allows you to refine your approach, address potential objections, and build a coalition of support (ahead of and during the meeting). How: ↳ Schedule informal discussions or small group meetings with key stakeholders or their team members to discuss your idea(s). A casual coffee or a brief virtual call can be effective. Lead with curiosity vs. an intent to respond. ↳ Ask targeted questions to gather feedback and gauge reactions to your ideas. Examples: What are your initial thoughts on this draft proposal? What challenges do you foresee with this approach? How does this align with our current priorities? ↳ Acknowledge, incorporate and highlight the insights from these pre-meetings into the main meeting, treating them as an integral part of the decision-making process. What would you add? PS: BONUS - Following these steps also expands your understanding of the business and your internal network - both of which make you more effective. --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

We’ve all seen variations of this comic on LinkedIn. They’re “funny” — but they also show a problem: we’re using AI with an old, document-centric mindset. Five bullets → AI inflates to 12 pages → AI compresses back to five bullets. That’s not intelligence; it’s content ping-pong. We’re optimizing for length, not for decisions. A better way: in a case like this, AI should act as a decision co-pilot, not a text generator. Instead of “write 12 pages,” ask AI to: 1. Clarify intent & audience. “What decision must be made, by whom, and by when?” 2. Build a 1-page Decision Brief: recommendation, three supporting reasons, risks/mitigations, options considered, next steps. 3. Link evidence, don’t paste it: connect to the data and surface the few charts or numbers that matter. 4. Generate fit-for-purpose outputs: • exec email (≤200 words with clear ask) • one-slide visual for the meeting • optional appendix with traceable sources 5. Push back when inputs are weak: ask for gaps, assumptions, and thresholds that would change the recommendation. 6. Automate the loop: monitor the underlying data and update the brief if something material changes. Try this prompt: “Turn these 5 bullets into a 1-page Decision Brief for [audience]. State the recommended action, key reasons, risks, alternatives, and next steps. Produce: (a) a 200-word exec email with a clear decision request, (b) a single summary slide, and (c) links to supporting data. Ask me any clarifying questions first.” Write less. Decide faster. Deliver clarity. #AI #AgenticAI #DecisionIntelligence #Productivity #FutureOfWork #Leadership #Communication

Microsoft just promoted 4 sales leaders to EVP. The press release buried the real story. One line stood out: "Keep the feedback loop between customers and product decisions as small as possible." Read that again. Microsoft—a company with 220,000 employees—is restructuring its entire sales leadership to shrink the distance between what customers need and what product builds. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝘀: Microsoft isn't doing this for fun. They're doing it because "AI is being adopted at extraordinary speed, and customers expect these capabilities to come to life in their business faster than ever before." Translation: The old model—sales captures feedback, passes it to product, product builds it 18 months later—is dead. Customers won't wait. Competitors won't wait. Your org structure can't wait either. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝘀: • Reps hear what customers actually need • That insight gets buried in CRM notes nobody reads • Product builds features based on internal roadmaps • Customers churn because their problems never get solved • Everyone blames "alignment issues" The loop is too long. The signal gets lost. Deals die in the gap. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼���𝗼𝗳𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀: When you elevate sales leaders to EVP and give them direct lines to product strategy, you're not just promoting people. You're compressing the feedback loop by design. Customer pain → Sales leadership → Product decision. No 6-month committee reviews. No "we'll add it to the backlog." No lost-in-translation moments. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗥𝗢 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: How long does it take for customer feedback from your sellers to influence a product decision at your company? If the answer is "months" or "I don't know," your feedback loop is a competitive liability. The companies winning in AI aren't just deploying faster. They're learning faster. And learning speed is a function of feedback loop length. How compressed is your customer-to-product feedback loop?

Layoffs feel unethical, but they’re not inherently wrong. It’s the behavior behind the decision that matters. I learned this early in my career. Layoffs are business decisions. They’re about numbers, markets, and strategy. What makes them unethical is when leadership lies, hides, or treats people like disposable parts. When you can’t look someone in the eye and tell the truth, that’s when you’ve crossed the line. That’s why I teach the ETHICS framework to leaders and HR folks. It’s not academic. It’s survival. It kept me grounded when the pressure was high and the choices were ugly. Evaluate. Get the facts. Who’s impacted? What’s the real story behind the spreadsheet? Don’t accept half-truths. Think. Sit with the consequences. Who gets hurt? Who gets protected? What’s the ripple effect six months from now? Honor values. Integrity isn’t a slide deck. It’s how you behave when nobody’s watching. Does this decision reflect what you say you stand for? Identify options. There are always more than leaders admit. Better severance. Clearer communication. A chance to redeploy someone into a different role. Get creative. Choose. Make the call with clarity, not cowardice. People can smell fear. They can also smell respect. Scrutinize. After it’s done, don’t bury it. What worked? What was awful? What will you refuse to repeat? Layoffs are a business failure for sure. We can and should make them fair, transparent, and respectful. That’s ethical leadership. So next time you’re in the room for a hard decision, don’t wing it. Don’t hide. Use the ETHICS framework. Stand in your values. People will forget the press release, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel when their job disappeared. https://lnkd.in/e2amCVM6

"I have a bone to pick with you." That's how I opened a recent conversation with an executive. Spoiler: It didn't land well. 🫠 (𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘐𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴.) I came in with a strong point of view, ready to advocate for my position. It was in opposition to a decision she made but that could still be changed. "She'll appreciate that I have conviction!" I thought confidently. But instead of sparking a productive debate, I miscalculated. The executive gently stopped me. She offered advice I'll never forget and have been thinking about days since: "Consider the context around how I made this decision." In that moment, I realized I'd skipped a crucial step: curiosity before challenge. Here's what I learned about challenging up, why my approach was all wrong, and what you can learn from my mistake. This advice is great if you're a current or aspiring #chiefofstaff but also applicable to anyone working to improve their persuasion skills. 1️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Instead of jumping in with a firm stance, start with, "I'm curious how you landed on this decision." This simple shift creates space for dialogue. It might even change your perspective before you voice your challenge. (In my case, as soon as I had more context, I changed my tune. If only I had led with curiosity...) 2️⃣ 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝘀. 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗢𝗩. Here's how I think about the difference: An informed opinion means you've thought critically but remain open to learning; a strong point of view (POV) usually means you've already decided the best course of action and are looking for buy-in. Generally, if the decision is in your domain/area of expertise, it's good to have your recommendation (POV) ready. For broader strategic decisions, almost always seek to understand first. 3️⃣ 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 — 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁. Compare "I disagree with this approach" to "Here's something I've been thinking about. Could I share my perspective?" Both convey your conviction, but one does it WAY more effectively. The former shuts down dialogue; the latter invites discussion. This experience taught me an important truth: The most effective persuaders aren't just those with strong convictions. They're the ones who master the dance between inquiry and advocacy. 💃 And even in an AI-driven world, persuading other humans will continue to be an in-demand skill. Whether you're early in your career or sitting at the executive table, understanding this balance can transform how your points are received. It might even change some strong opinions you thought you had. It did for me. (𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘈𝘐.)

30 mins before a crucial steering committee meeting, our team realized that a key analysis was based on the wrong data set, potentially impacting all the decisions we were about to propose. The consultant leading that workstream understandably started to panic. We braced ourselves for the worst, envisioning a career-crushing feedback storm. We approached our partner, explained the situation honestly, and fully expected the sky to fall. Instead, he listened calmly, as if nothing happened. At the meeting, our partner explained to the CEO that some analyses and decisions would need to wait and that the team needs to run the analysis again, explaining to the client CEO that we wouldn't compromise on the foundation of our recommendations. The outcome? No one got fired, no one got yelled at. In fact, the client CEO appreciated our commitment to quality over speed and our upfront communication. They respected our honesty! You don’t learn these lessons unless you experience it live: people value honesty and owning your mistakes. All this happens only with great leadership: someone who fosters a safe space for open communication and prioritizes getting things right over deadlines. #Leadership #Mindset #Mistakeshappen #Communication #Learnings ------------------- I write regularly on People | Leadership | Financial services | Sustainability. Follow Surya Sharma

This one mindset changed how I lead teams. Influence isn't loud. It's patient. I’ve wanted to be influential at various points in my career.   And I used to think that influence was about perfect arguments. Flawless logic. The right facts, delivered with confidence.   And sometimes, that worked. But not often enough.   The more I led teams, the more I realised influence isn’t about convincing people. It’s about guiding them to convince themselves.   People don’t like being told what to do. They like feeling in control.   So, instead of pushing my ideas, I started asking better questions.   Like the time I needed a team to pivot on a project: – I didn’t lecture them. – I just asked, “What outcome do we really want here?” – That simple question sparked a discussion. – And they landed on the exact conclusion I had in mind. But it wasn’t my idea anymore. It was theirs.   And that’s the point. Influence isn’t about being the smartest person in the room.   It’s about creating space where others feel smart. Where their ideas matter.   Sometimes, I’d say one thing. Then stay silent. No rush to fill the gap. Just letting the idea sit.   And over time? I’d hear my words echoed back – not because I pushed, but because the idea took root.   The biggest shift? 👉 Realising that influence feels effortless when you stop trying to control the outcome. It’s not about being right. It’s about creating alignment. So, if you’re struggling to get people on board, maybe it’s not about trying harder. Maybe it’s about trying differently. Ask questions. Pause. Let ideas breathe. You don’t need to push. You just need to guide. Influence works best when people believe the choice was theirs all along.   How do you influence? Drop your thoughts in the comments. ⭐️ Follow me (Mostyn Wilson) and subscribe to my newsletter (link above) for more like this.