Single Point of Failure: The dangers of isolated decision making

I recall a time when I had ambitions to be the person that had the final say in everything. I think we all have this dream at some point in our lives. “If only I were calling the shots, we wouldn’t be in this position.” I’m sure the majority of you can relate to this statement in some way.

Perhaps you’re the exception to the rule. You tend to make the right decisions without consulting anybody. Well, kudos to you. You’re among some ridiculously small percentage of people that are able to do so. If you’re like the rest of us, you’ve made some pretty bad decisions because you failed to consult the people that they would impact. You didn’t do it just once, either. Chances are it’s taken you several tries to get this right.

Decisions are often made by individuals that are disconnected from low-level operations. In a well orchestrated organization, the information required to make educated decisions is readily available. However, more often than not these decisions end up being made without any foresight into how they impact others in your organization. It’s almost like they’re made in some sort of black box.

As I progressed through my career and began creating my own black boxes, I quickly re-discovered the importance of a team mentality. Teams and hierarchies ultimately boil down to pay scale and organization charts but that doesn’t mean that you can’t operate with each other’s best interest in mind. At the end of the day, you are a team and you depend on each other, right?

Maybe it’s insecurity of their qualifications or just pure paranoia, but too many managers have this irrational fear that prevents them from giving team members any significant responsibilities. On more than one occasion, I’ve found it invaluable to train a member of my team that I trust as a representative and can consult with when making important decisions that impact the team. On other occasions, I consult the team as a whole. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting that people can be innovative and tend to have ideas for solving their day-to-day problems. If someone spends five hours a day doing the same repetitive task, chances are they have some ideas on how to be more efficient…without you dictating it to them.

My point is that titles may indicate where the decision is ultimately made, but they shouldn’t indicate the only people involved in making the decision.