Decision-making is the specific process used to arrive at
judgments and conclusions. It is the process of choosing among
alternatives. This is a very necessary part of leadership. Every
leader must make decisions. Leaders are evaluated by how quickly
they can make
decisions, and how many of their decisions are
correct.
The two extremes in decision-making are the one who makes
decisions without proper gathering and analyzing of facts
(one who flies by the seat of his pants); and the one who
never seems to collect enough facts and waits too long
to make a decision.
There are wide degrees of importance
in decisions that are made. A person will decide what
clothes to wear one day, where to eat lunch, what to eat for
lunch, and many other decisions that are not life changing.
However, when one decides where to go to school, what to
major in, which church to accept, which house to buy, what
staff position to add,
and who to fill it, then he is
making major decisions.
Decision-making is not the same as
problem-solving. Decision-making can be defined as choosing
between alternatives, whereas problem-solving is the process
of formulating and implementing a plan of action to
eliminate a difficulty. Problem-solving always involves
making decisions, but making a decision may or may not solve
a problem.
Decision-making is an interdisciplinary
process. Economics and statistics provide utility and
probability. Sociology and social psychology provide an
understanding of group behavior. Law, anthropology, and
political science provide an understanding of the
environment. Mathematics provides models and stimulations.
Psychology provides an understanding of individual behavior.
Religion and philosophy provides values and ethics.
Major
decisions in a church should involve the church membership.
The church should participate in crucial decisions such as
adopting major policies, articulating church goals,
incurring significant debt, purchasing or selling church
property, launching a building program, approving an annual
budget, and calling professional staff. Leaders should
guide the decision-making process, but not become dictators.
Leaders who fail to help churches make major decisions
involving change usually make
one of the following
errors:
1. They attempt to move the church toward a goal
that the members do not own. Ownership of goals is vital to
the achievement of those goals.
2. They use methodologies that are perceived as
unprincipled or manipulative. People naturally resent being
treated with disrespect or herded like cattle.
3. They fail to motivate the church to change.
4. They are frequently impatient with the slowness of
church decision-making and tend to act prematurely.
5. They fail to assess accurately the capacity of the
church to change. Goals must be
attainable by faith and
hard work. Unattainable goals reflect poorly upon leaders.
6. They fail to enlist individuals whose support is
necessary. Comparatively few people have major influence,
and unless these people are involved in the process and
supportive of decisions it is unlikely that good decisions
can be made and implemented. It must be recognized that
there are formal and informal leaders that have influence.
7. Leaders fail to understand the dynamics of groups and
the process of group decision-making. Poor leaders do not
detect the signals of group fragmentation, do not understand
how decisions are made, and fail to assess accurately the
need for encouragement, solicitation of fresh ideas,
postponement of action, or implementation of a different
procedure.
