Don’t Crash and Burn, Use a Decision Making Framework

Imagine this, you’re driving down the freeway at 100 kilometres an hour. Up ahead, a truck changes lanes and clips the nose of a nearby car, causing a catastrophic accident involving multiple vehicles. What do you do?

As the driver, you’re faced with a high-stakes situation that demands split-second decisions. You need to act quickly to ensure your safety and minimise potential harm to others.

Now, let’s shift gears.

Scenario Two: A Different Kind of Decision

You’re still driving at 100 kilometres an hour, but this time you see a sign that says, “Rest stop ahead: food, petrol, next stop.” You need to decide whether to stop now or at the next rest area. Unlike the first scenario, this decision isn’t urgent. You might even consult your passenger before deciding.

Scenario Three: Low-Stakes Choices

Finally, imagine you’re driving, and someone wants to change the music in the car. This is a decision with minimal impact on your journey. You might not even get involved, letting your passengers handle it while you focus on driving.

What Does This Mean for Organisations?

These three scenarios demonstrate the importance of decision-making frameworks. In an organisation, decisions range from critical and urgent to inconsequential. However, many teams fail to differentiate between these categories, treating every decision as if it’s a high-stakes emergency.

This lack of clarity can grind your projects, programs, and even entire organisations to a halt. When too many people get involved in minor decisions—or worse, when no one is empowered to make the urgent ones—progress stalls.

Creating a Decision-Making Matrix

To avoid decision paralysis, you need a structured framework for decision-making. This matrix ensures that the right people are responsible for the right decisions, based on urgency and importance.

Critical and Urgent Decisions
These are the equivalent of the first scenario: life-or-death moments for your project. These decisions need to be made quickly by empowered, single-threaded leaders. These individuals must have timely access to the right information and full accountability for the outcomes.
Important but Less Urgent Decisions
Like deciding whether to stop at the next rest area, these decisions may require input from others. In this case, the decision-maker should gather perspectives, weigh the options, and decide without unnecessary delays.
Low-Stakes Decisions
Decisions like changing the music should require minimal involvement from leadership. Let others on the team handle these choices while leaders focus on the road ahead.

Why Does This Matter?

When you fail to differentiate between decision types, even low-stakes choices can drag down your organisation. Imagine involving senior leaders in discussions about minor details or requiring extensive sign-offs for routine actions. Not only does this waste time, but it also diverts attention from high-priority issues.

On the flip side, delaying critical decisions because no one has the authority to act can lead to missed opportunities and prolonged challenges.

Empowering Single-Threaded Leaders

The solution lies in empowering single-threaded leaders. These individuals are responsible for specific decisions and have the authority to act quickly when needed. However, their success depends on two critical factors:

Access to Information: Leaders need the right data, expertise, and context to make informed decisions. If this information isn’t readily available, delays are inevitable.
Clear Accountability: Each decision must have a clear owner. Ambiguity around responsibility leads to hesitation and confusion, undermining progress.

Implementing Mechanisms for Success

To make this system work, you also need robust mechanisms for decision-making. These frameworks eliminate unnecessary deliberation by providing clear processes for how and when decisions are made.

For example, you might establish protocols that outline:

Who is responsible for different types of decisions.
What resources and data are required.
Timelines for making and communicating decisions.

The Impact of Streamlined Decision-Making

When organisations adopt this approach, the difference is remarkable. Programs and projects move forward with greater agility, and teams experience less frustration and burnout. Decision-makers feel empowered, and team members understand their roles and responsibilities.

This doesn’t just improve outcomes—it transforms how your organisation operates. By applying a decision-making matrix, you create a culture where momentum isn’t lost to endless deliberation, and high-stakes moments are handled with confidence.

The Road Ahead

Like driving down the freeway, running a successful organisation requires focus, adaptability, and clarity. Not every decision requires the driver’s input, but some decisions demand immediate action.

By establishing clear decision-making frameworks and empowering leaders with the tools they need, you can navigate any challenge with confidence and efficiency.

So, the next time your organisation faces a critical decision, ask yourself: is this a life-or-death moment, a pit stop, or just a music change? And make sure your decision-making process reflects the stakes.