Leadershpip and Life Essentials: You Said It Was Theirs - Handling the Decision That Comes Back Different

You said it was theirs, handling this decision that comes back different.

Now, reflect on this scenario.

Your project lead comes into your office.

A client is furious.

She describes the situation.

The client blames us for a mistake and she isn't sure what to do.

Every instinct you have wants to jump in and solve it.

You know you could fix it quickly.

But you take a deep breath and you ask her one question.

What would you do if I wasn't here? She thinks for a moment, reflects, and heads back to her desk.

Consider every decision that belongs to someone else and lands on your desk as a monkey.

There's an old Harvard Business Review article about it.

You just set that monkey back where it came from, and you feel pretty good about it.

An hour later, she's back in your doorway.

I told them we'd just redo it, no charge.

You've seen the email trail.

The mistake started with information that the client gave you.

You were right, and you have the proof.

Everything in you wants to pick up the phone and set the record straight.

You take another deep breath and you keep your thought inside your head.

How you respond will determine if she ever comes back to you for help and support.

Sending a decision back is the easy part.

What you do when it comes back different than what you would have done is where most leaders struggle.

So you ask her to walk you through it.

She'd already talked to the client, the redo was about an hour of work, the client was relieved, and they'd just sent over their next project.