Preparation is King

There is nothing worse than appearing unprepared for a decision process….., really?

Imagine you get a call the evening before the team meeting and a colleague tells you she or he cannot attend with her or his role & topic and kindly asks you to be the proxy.  Your competence allows it and you might say right away: “yes, of course!”  But: what if the person was well prepared and you aren´t ?

It´s hard with the daily work load to take over a role with the new issue and then go into a meeting with almost zero preparation because your time frame that day doesn´t allow any preparation.
HINT:  You need to have a quick tactic & a short plan to follow! 
And on top, you need to be a strong communicator!           (note: not loud, but strong)

Here is what might happen if you confront a team with a new topic (which your colleague hoped to win) and you have no time to explain the content well enough for starting a professional discussion:

The first reaction might be DEFENSE!  Everyone in the room is not informed and takes over the role of a defender.  You have no chance to “keep the ball low” (and avoid turmoil) – so, what do you do?

1. Set up the GOAL you will talk about:  what is the main question to answer tonight?
2. Stay with this direction to first “fix” the goal before you go-on discussing the benefits and threats
3. Nail the goal to make it happen and to get it started
4. Start discussing the arguments for a decision and make sure everyone understands the details
5. Go for a compromise everyone can live with if people are rather insecure about the outcome
6. Then vote for “yes” (or “no”) to shorten the available time frame

Defense appears when people are insecure, inexperienced, scared, incompetent on this area, can´t ask others for advice and after they gathered negative experience.  It´s a quite natural behaviour.

Defense asks for competence, strong arguments, for a positive outcome or for a quick way out of the new situation (install a backdoor) in case it turns.

Your task then is to lead the team away from defense to the idea and thought that it is a good new service or a great new product you plan to offer.
Defense means removing the fence by not pushing it back to those who set it up in front of you.  Defense asks for information and information is relevant for any decision process.  If you can´t come up with information you should explain HOW the process might develop.  Use your outlook ability!  Go for a finite compromise to take off the decision pressure.

If you follow this plan you will be on the right way to win the new project!  Communication is a strong part of a decision process and being well prepared is King!

 

BE A DECISION MAKER.  BECOME OUTSTANDING.

rita jaskolla – Leadership Architect –