Successful leaders make good decisions. They have the capacity to clearly understand the situation and what is required. Additionally, they have a clear sense of who they are and how their decisions affect others. In a highly regarded Harvard Review article on executive decision-making, Ken Brosseau and his colleagues demonstrated the link between how senior-level executives tend to make decisions differently than other staff. They identified two general categories of decision-making:

Public, which they associated with leadership style

Private, which defined the executive's operating style

Brosseau's research showed that executives who were able to better understand the reasons behind their decisions made higher quality decisions, and were able to move up in the organization to greater levels of responsibility. Those who were not able to increase the level of complexity in their decision-making remained at lower levels and were not to advance. Let's take a closer look at these dimensions and the implications for leadership, team dynamics and organizational cultural development.

The Importance of Good Decision-Making
When you boil things down, executives essentially do two very important things each day. They communicate on a broad spectrum of issues with a wide variety of individuals and they solve problems throughout the day. Both of these key processes have important consequences for the people they lead and the organization as a whole. Decisions are the core of these two important processes. When the decisions are sound, the culture prospers. When the decisions are of poor quality everyone suffers. Michael Colenso in his book Kaizen Strategies for Successful Organizational Change makes clear links between the process of change, the implications for the organization and quality. Inherent in all of these processes, is the quality of the decisions that shape the future of the organization and the people that work there.

So, how does this decision-making process work?

Understanding How You Make Decisions
According to Brosseau and his colleagues, individuals make decisions in the following manner.

Decisive:  This is a fast-moving, action-oriented and focused style. The style places great emphasis on efficiency and practicality. People are generally viewed as quick-thinking, productive, and reliable. When in Decisive mode they want to make decisions, put them into action and move on to other things.

Flexible:  This is also a fast-moving, action-oriented style. But, unlike the Decisive style, the Flexible style is geared to adapting rapidly to change. People who use this style are viewed as fast, agreeable and highly responsive to changing circumstances. When in Flexible mode, they generally make fast decisions that they will quickly modify to the changing situation.

Hierarchic:  This is a methodical and analytic style that puts energy into thinking through things carefully. People who use this style place a great deal of importance on quality and doing things in the best possible way. Thoroughness and logic are very important to the Hierarchic style. Once high quality decisions have been made they are seldom abandoned unless superior alternatives present themselves. The Hierarchic style values competence and expertise.

Integrative:  This is also a highly analytic style. However, compared to the Hierarchic style, the Integrative style is much more exploratory and attracted to new ideas and possibilities. People who are Integrative tend to be drawn to groups and teams because of the diversity of information and ideas that are available. When using the Integrative style, people seldom do things the same way twice, preferring instead to try out new ideas and methods.

Systemic:  This method is highly analytical, very thorough and global-thinking. People who use this style make decisions once they have a full grasp of the "big picture" surrounding the situation. Once they turn their attention to action, they search for strategies that deal with the immediate situation before them, as well as, the larger context surrounding the issues. They make decisions that are intended to satisfy many criteria and multiple priorities.

According to Brosseau, we all have dominant styles that we generally use in all situations, which may change depending upon the situational context. For instance, we may use a certain style when leading others in a public forum and a different style when working alone or privately with a small familiar group. The importance here is to know how decisions are made and refine and perfect this style when working with others. This knowledge becomes the basis for leadership, team development and cultural change.

Decision-Making and Emotional Intelligence
In addition to Brosseau's work, emotional intelligence research has provided great insights into the non-cognitive realm of how we think and what we do each day. Daniel Goleman has received a great deal of credit for clarifying our "Emotional IQ". His research identified four stages of emotional maturity covering self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skill. In each of these stages an individual develops the emotional capacity to be more effective in life. Again, there are clear links to decision-making. In a Harvard Review article on What Makes a Leader, Goleman argues that leaders get results across six different dimensions. In each of these categories decisions are be made according to a different style, which has parallels with Brosseau's work.

Relationship of Emotional Intelligence to Decision Styles
 

Leadership Style	Description	Decision Style
Coercive	Demand immediate compliance	Decisive
Authoritative	Mobilize towards a vision	Systemic
Affiliative	Creates harmony and builds emotional bonds	Intergrative
Democratic	Forges consensus through participation	Flexible
Pacesetting	Sets high standards for performance	Hierarchic
Coaching	Develops people for the future	Combination of All

Again, leaders who are emotionally mature and take into consideration the context of their decisions will get the results they are looking for. Understanding and knowledge in these two key areas of decision-making and emotional intelligence are keys to leadership success. 

Implications for Upward Mobility
As we continue to understand the relationship between decision-making styles and emotional maturity, there are also implications for organizational upward mobility. Leaders who move up in the organization are able to work calmly in a complex landscape. They are able to navigate the "noise" in the environment and use it to their advantage.

Generally, leaders who are able to utilize the Hierarchic, Integrative and Systemic styles in public are better suited to move to positions of higher authority.  Flexible and Decisive styles are more typical of lower management and supervisory roles. Additionally, leaders who develop their emotional IQ will also rise within the organization. Goleman calls it "going to the gym" where work on the four stages of emotional maturity goes on each day. Executives who do this will progressively enhance and develop their emotional fitness and leadership capacity.
 
A Final Word
Leaders who understand the relationship of how they make decisions and emotional maturity will continue to be successful in their organizations. They will benefit personally as will the teams they lead. This in turn will create an organizational culture and work environment that promotes engagement in effective decisions that generate positive personal growth and healthy bottom-lines.