Leadership Impact On Decision Making

Many senior leaders have a strong "do now" mentality. They want to "move fast", "take action", and "just try it". While this has proven successful in environments with high variability and low data (e.g. startups), it often backfires in situations that require complex decision-making or big organizational shifts. When "do now" is overly valued: 😓 Large reorgs turn messy and set the company back for quarters if not years. 😓 Teams experience constant churn and low ROI from launches, jumping from idea to idea too quickly. 😓 Underinvestment in first-order-negative-but-second-order-positive competitive differentiators, leading to a lack of long-term defensive moats. It turns out that many complex challenges that organizations and teams face today benefit from deep thinking first. To bring this balance into your organization, try the following: ✅ Work with leaders who prefer to "Think Deeply First", and be compassionate about their slower approach to decision-making. ✅ Invest time in debating alternatives, weighing various risks, or making sure everyone's opinions are heard. ✅ Open up your decision-making to a diverse team and take the time to truly hear feedback. Remember, when your "do now" clashes with another trusted leader's "think first", take a step back and consider whether a slower and more considered approach will have outsized benefit in the long term. ----- 👋 Hi! I'm Yue. I am a Chief Product and Technology Officer turned Executive Coach. I help women and minority aspiring executives break through to the C-suite. 🚀  🔔 Follow me for more content on coaching, leadership, and career growth.

A leader in an organisation maximises productivity and output for that organisation by bringing the best out of everyone and the best out of how people combine together. If you are a leader, it is a good moment to find your voice to tell the individuals in your teams that there is power in diversity and that equity and inclusion still matter to you; to set goals around keeping the best of those conversations and programs alive; and revisit them often with your team to assess your progress and test their continued relevance.  It is alarming to see a number of companies backtrack on their programs and their public commitments in this area. However smoothly worded, the role modelling is unfortunate. We live in a complex, globally connected world. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs have been useful in raising awareness of our differences. These programs can provide a common language and often a safe space to use that language to explore those differences, points of ignorance or even ideas on how to come together more productively. Harnessing the diversity that follows good practice boosts creativity, productivity, mental health, motivation, reduces attrition and creates better safety nets on tough decisions (because different perspectives prevent big mistakes). A good time to show your leadership.

Strategic Clarity: Lessons from the Boeing vs. Airbus Rivalry The Boeing vs. Airbus story is a masterclass in how strategic clarity drives long-term success, especially in high-stakes aerospace-related industries. Here are key lessons from their contrasting approaches: ☑ 1. Prioritizing Objectives ↳ Boeing’s focus on short-term financial performance, highlighted during the 737 Max crisis, prioritized cost-cutting over safety. ↳ Airbus, in contrast, has maintained a balanced vision, prioritizing innovation, customer satisfaction, and long-term value. Lesson: Strategic clarity means aligning priorities with long-term goals, not short-term pressures. ☑ 2. Aligning Strategy with Execution ↳ Boeing’s cultural shift from engineering-led to finance-driven decision-making created a disconnect between its goals and actions. ↳ Airbus has consistently integrated strategy and execution, using innovations like fuel-efficient engines and composite materials to meet customer demands. Lesson: Coherence between vision, culture, and execution ensures strategic objectives translate into effective action. ☑ 3. Adapting to Market Dynamics ↳ Airbus has invested proactively in sustainability, developing hydrogen-powered and electric aircraft to address customer and regulatory demands. ↳ Boeing’s slower response to sustainability trends has impacted its competitiveness. Lesson: Anticipating and responding to market shifts with forward-looking actions reinforces long-term competitiveness. ☑ 4. Crisis Management ↳ Boeing’s delayed and inconsistent handling of the 737 Max crisis eroded trust and damaged its reputation. ↳ Airbus managed challenges like production delays with greater transparency and consistency, preserving customer confidence. Lesson: Clear strategies during crises enable decisive action, align immediate responses with long-term goals, and maintain stakeholder trust. ☑ 5. Innovation Anchored in Vision ↳ Boeing’s reliance on iterative updates to older platforms like the 737 Max exposed a lack of strategic foresight. ↳ Airbus’s groundbreaking innovations, such as the A350 and A320neo, align with future customer needs and market demands. Lesson: Innovation strategies tied to a clear vision ensure investments reinforce competitive advantage. The Boeing vs. Airbus rivalry underscores the critical importance of strategic clarity in navigating challenges and sustaining success. Clear objectives, alignment between strategy and execution, proactive adaptation to change, focused crisis management, and purpose-driven innovation are the cornerstones of long-term competitiveness. Businesses that embrace these principles will be better positioned to adapt, innovate, and thrive in a constantly evolving landscape. Ps. Follow me for more strategic insights like this! 🙌

Throughout my career, I've witnessed how limiting narrow leadership perspectives can be—and why truly transformative organizations must challenge their own blind spots, especially when it comes to gender diversity in top leadership positions. The numbers don't lie. In the UK's top 100 companies: -Only 9 women hold FTSE 100 CEO positions -Women represent just 32% of leadership roles -Merely 12 companies have achieved gender parity in senior leadership We need 5.6x more women CEOs to reflect the UK's population. But this isn't just about numbers; it's about untapped potential. Companies with diverse leadership are: -More profitable -More socially responsible -Deliver higher-quality customer experiences Key Bottlenecks: -Women are severely underrepresented in P&L leadership -Traditional CEO feeder roles remain male-dominated -Succession pipelines continue to perpetuate existing imbalances No organization achieves greatness by maintaining the status quo. Our legacy as leaders will be defined by the opportunities we create for those who have been systematically overlooked. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4gGhNqV #WomenInLeadership #GenderDiversity #RRAArtemis

In my early days at Rubrik, I made a mistake: I sought out leaders who mirrored my own strengths and weaknesses. It seemed logical at the time since I knew I could better relate to people with the same qualities as me, but I quickly learned that true leadership requires a diverse portfolio of skills. Just like in finance, where a diverse asset portfolio reduces risk, your leadership team needs a mix of perspectives and strengths. If everyone thinks and acts the same way, you’re setting yourself up for a major downfall. Think about it: When you're confronted with a problem you’re not sure how to tackle, it's a learning experience. But if no one on your team is equipped to handle that challenge, your entire organization can crash. Diversity of skills in leadership encourages innovation and resilience. It compensates for individual weaknesses and amplifies our collective strengths. When you embrace different viewpoints, you create a more adaptable and robust team capable of navigating challenges. The right mix of strengths will keep us grounded, even when the storms of uncertainty hit.

The Hardest Decisions Are the Ones That Shape You Leadership isn’t just about making tough decisions it’s about leading people through them. When we embarked on Annahar’s transformation, I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Change is disruptive. It creates tension, fear, and resistance because transformation isn’t just about strategy, technology, or business models. It’s about people. I saw it firsthand: 🔹 Some resisted, holding on to tradition. 🔹 Others felt stressed and uncertain about their place in the new vision. 🔹 A few embraced the change but even they needed guidance to adapt. 🔥 Leading transformation is not about pleasing everyone it’s about doing what’s right for the future. 🚀 Here’s what I learned about making transformation work: ✔ Define a clear strategy … You need a vision that people can trust. ✔ Set the right organizational structure …The right people in the right roles matter. ✔ Establish KPIs…Measure success so people understand progress. ✔ Make tough calls, even when they’re unpopular…Sometimes, you have to cut costs, restructure teams, or shift priorities to ensure sustainability. ✔ Support people through change…Transformation happens on multiple levels: ✅ People level (new skills, new roles) ✅ Technology level (AI, digital tools) ✅ Organizational culture level (mindset shift) As a leader, sometimes you play the bad role … pushing people out of their comfort zone, disrupting routines, making the hard decisions that no one else wants to make. But at the end of the day, transformation isn’t just about changing a company it’s about preparing it for the future. 💬 Have you ever led a transformation? What was the biggest challenge you faced? Let’s discuss. #Leadership #Transformation #ChangeManagement #Media #GrowthMindset

One of the more subtle challenges for many people, including leaders, is not choosing but “un-choosing”. We assume decisions are about analysis: weighing evidence, comparing alternatives and then selecting the best path. Yet, in practice, many decisions are shaped less by logic and more by ownership. Once something becomes ours, be that OUR idea or OUR strategy or OUR belief, its value quietly rises in our mind. Psychologists,I believe, call this the Endowment Effect: we place a higher value on what we already possess. Ownership changes our perception. You see it in investing, for instance. An investor holds on to a declining stock because selling feels like accepting a mistake and you believe your original decision must have been right. The same person would probably not buy that stock today, yet finds it difficult to part with it. You see it in organizations. A product launched with great conviction survives long after its relevance fades. A process designed years ago continues because “this is how we’ve always done it.” The debate is no longer about merit, but about attachment. The Endowment Effect is reinforced by the Status Quo bias, which is our tendency to prefer the current state simply because it exists. We are creatures of habit and change is not easy. Together, these two create inertia and biases that can masquerade as conviction. Decision making – and leadership - become difficult not just when the future is unclear, but when we have such high emotional investment in the past. Often the most expensive decisions are not only wrong choices, but choices that seemed right once that we refuse to revisit. One way to deal with this is to reframe ownership by asking a simple question: If this were not already ours, would we choose it today? This removes history and attachment from judgement and restores objectivity. It also helps to institutionalise review in organisations. Sunset clauses, periodic portfolio reviews and rotating decision-makers can introduce healthy detachment. Time creates attachment, so structure must counter it. Organizations celebrate launches, rarely closures. Yet, strategic withdrawal ( though not just for the sake of making change) is often a sign of maturity. The Endowment Effect is in a sense deeply human. Attachment is not weakness, but is our preference for continuity and for the familiar, with the ego also playing its part. But, when attachment replaces evaluation, yesterday’s strengths and good decisions can become tomorrow’s constraints and follies. Leadership, in many ways, is as much about the courage to decide as about the courage to reconsider something that is. Because progress doesn’t come from always choosing the new; it often comes from letting go of the once-right.

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 One of the fundamental qualities that distinguish effective #leaders from others is their approach to #accountability. While some individuals may be quick to point fingers and shift blame when things go wrong, true leaders embrace accountability and inspire the same behavior in their teams. The Importance of Accountability in Leadership is not merely about taking responsibility for one’s actions; it is about owning the outcomes, whether they are successes or failures. Leaders who embody accountability demonstrate #integrity, build #trust, and foster a culture of ownership within their #organizations. By taking responsibility for their decisions and actions, they set a powerful example for their #teams. In contrast, leaders who resort to blaming others undermine trust and damage team morale. Blame-shifting not only deflects responsibility but also erodes the #confidence of team members, leading to a toxic work culture where people are afraid to take risks or innovate. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲? ✅ Building Trust and Credibility When leaders own up to their mistakes and take responsibility for their actions, they earn the trust and respect of their team members. Trust is the foundation of any successful organization, and it is built on transparency and honesty. ✅ Fostering a Culture of Learning and Innovation Leaders who embrace accountability encourage a growth mindset within their teams. They understand that mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process and that failure can lead to valuable insights and innovation. ✅ Empowering Teams Accountability is empowering. When leaders take responsibility for their actions and decisions, they empower their teams to do the same. ✅Driving Organizational Success Accountability is a key driver of organizational success. When leaders model accountability, they set a standard for performance and integrity that permeates the entire organization. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Leaders must demonstrate accountability in their actions and decisions. By being transparent about their mistakes and learning from them, they set a powerful example for their teams. They can… ✔️Create a Safe Environment ✔️Encourage open communication. ✔️Set Clear Expectations ✔️Provide Constructive Feedback ✔️Recognize and Reward Accountability . In short, in the realm of leadership, accountability is a cornerstone that underpins trust, integrity, and #performance. A leader's ability to inspire accountability in others is not merely a matter of issuing commands or setting expectations; it is fundamentally about leading by example. The truth is, you can't inspire accountability in others until you model it yourself. This principle holds true across industries, cultures, and contexts.

Most strategic decisions do get planned—just not far enough ahead. You discuss a larger initiative, weigh the options and commit to a direction. But here's what often gets skipped: thinking through the ripple effects. The second-order consequences. What does this decision create six months from now? That's what Futures Thinking teaches us. It's not about predicting what will happen. It's about exploring what could happen, and making smarter choices because of it. Three tools I find useful for team decisions: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 – What outcomes are possible? Which are probable? Which do we actually want? 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹 – If we choose this path, what ripples out? What second-order effects will it create for our team and stakeholders? 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 – Start with the future state we want to achieve. Then work backward to map the decisions that get us there. These aren't just governmental foresight tools. They're thinking tools that help you slow down, look ahead, and decide with intention instead of just reacting. When you're facing your next big team decision, try this: Don't start with solutions. Start with the future state you want to create. Then work backward.

A few years ago, a CEO I coached said, “Every week feels the same. The same fires, just in different departments.” Like many leaders, he was solving brilliantly but within the same loop. ✅ What he needed was a systems-thinking shift. It often comes down to this: • Leaders who think in steps solve problems repeatedly. • Leaders who think in systems solve them once. Most leadership energy is wasted in firefighting mode, reacting to outcomes instead of addressing the structures that create them. Systems-thinking leadership changes that. It’s preventive leadership. Instead of asking, “What went wrong?” Ask, “What pattern keeps creating this?” When you fix the pattern, the symptom often disappears permanently. That’s why organisations led by systems thinkers see up to a 60% reduction in recurring issues. You can start by: 1. Mapping the flow:  Where does the problem originate? 2. Identifying repetition: What keeps resurfacing? 3. Intervening at structure: What policy, rhythm, or decision loop fuels it? One systemic intervention can prevent dozens of future fires. That’s strategic leverage. Because when leaders build systems that self-correct, teams become self-managing, and leadership finally shifts from firefighting to fire prevention. What’s one recurring issue in your organization that might be a system problem in disguise? #LeadershipDevelopment #SystemsThinking