Persuasive Speech : Decision Making

When you increase participation in decision making it can become quite time consuming, as there are more opinions and ideas it can make it much more difficult to actually come to a conclusion. Often times when we are in the middle of a staff meeting it can become rather heated. You have several groups of associates with varied opinions on what they want to happen, as well as a few associates who just want the meeting to end so they can either go back to work or go home.

Delays in decision making weaken my leadership ability directly, by taking time away from other areas in the clinic. I often become too focused on trying to vet out all of the ideas from my associates that I lose focus on other time sensitive issues that I need to deal with. When decisions need to be made quickly, participant leadership can sometimes get in the way. If you have created an environment of getting everyone’s views before implementing new processes or procedures, you can be left yielding to the group as a whole before making an appropriate choice. Deadlines can often be missed due to the lack of decisiveness while waiting on the group consensus.

Working in an office that is more than ninety percent women can at times not be the best environment for a participatory leadership style as some associates may become frustrated when their ideas are not accepted. Conflict can arise when you have very opinionated associates and multiple beliefs being given.

Dissension between associates who feel that the other person is attended to more by management can lead to tension in the department. What was once an opportunity to bring team members together can ultimately cause a confrontation and adverse interaction between each other.

My participatory leadership st...

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...lly takes to get to the real issues that need to be addressed. By sending out an agenda a few days before a scheduled meeting and asking associates beforehand if they have any specific problems or concerns that need to be addressed associates will feel as though they once again have a vested interest in the meeting. Working closely with the team members and focusing on building relationships is key. (Murdock)

David Packard once said, “Take risks. Ask big questions. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not reaching far enough.” (Malone, 2007)I also need to realize that while I would like to be able to include my associates on decisions that will affect them in their day to day duties; I must learn to make critical or STAT decisions without looking to the group for their approval. I have to be willing to take risks and make mistakes.