How much should a leader share about a tough decision?
Share a little of the struggle. "I wrestled with this decision for a week. Here's where I landed and why" shows your team how you think.
What I say in the video
A lot of leaders think their job is to look like they've got it together all the time. It's not.
The most trusted leaders I work with share the struggle. Not to vent. Not all of it, but they'll say, "I wrestled with this decision for a week. Here's where I landed and why."
That does two things: it shows your team that hard calls are actually hard, and it shows them how you think.
The goal isn't to look unflappable. It's to be worth following.
What I didn’t say in the video
The worry is usually that showing any struggle will make you look less capable. It tends to work the other way. Your team already knows hard decisions are hard. When you act like they weren't, people start to wonder what else you're not telling them.
What matters is how much you share. One sentence about the struggle is enough, followed by your decision and your reasoning. That isn't venting. It's showing people the thinking behind the call, which helps them make better calls themselves.
Try it today
The next time you announce a tough decision, add one sentence about what made it hard before you explain where you landed.
Bill Smartt is a New York executive presence and public speaking coach and the founder of Smartt Talk. He works with leaders in financial services, tech, advertising and startups.
