Command decisions are authoritative directives made by a leader without input from others. They are often made in urgent situations or when further consultation is unnecessary, requiring clear communication and trust in the decision-maker’s judgment.
Primary Implication
The decision not to involve those directly impacted by a command decision is efficient in making the decision and potentially inefficient in executing the decision, particularly when those impacted by the decision don’t trust the decision-maker.
Overview
Command decisions are made by the person with the authority to make the decision without involving others.
- Command decisions are made with no involvement whatsoever from others. Often, they are influenced by outside forces that place demands on the accountable person, requiring them to deal immediately with the demands of the circumstances or where more involvement adds nothing.
- It is not a subordinate’s job in command decisions to decide what to do; the subordinate’s job is to decide how to make it work.
- Best used when the person making the command decision is trusted to make a good decision.
When faced with a potential command decision, consider the following:
- As a general rule, if people can make choices, allow them to do so. Don’t tie their hands without reason.
- Recognize which elements are flexible. Find out where you have degrees of freedom and then allow others to choose within these boundaries.
- Explain why when handing down an order by articulating the reason behind the demand. Knowing why helps make what a lot easier to do and to live with.
- Don’t pass out orders like candy. We face enough command decisions from constraints placed on us by outside forces that we don’t need someone on a power trip making up new ones.
When considering a command decision-making approach, remember that the more you need the discretionary energy of those impacted by a command decision, the more energy you must invest in helping those impacted by the decision to understand how the decision was approached. You should also be ready to share the other considerations you explored, why this particular decision was made, and how everyone will know it was the right decision.
Choose not to communicate the reasoning behind the decision and what your measure of success for the decision, and all you will get at best is compliance. Most likely, you will get subversive noncompliance.