I realised that gut instinct will only get you so far when making difficult decisions, following my recent participation in the Leadership Conversations hosted by St George’s Society of Leadership Fellows, Windsor Castle.

Far better to engage with others to get vital input from a diverse range of perspectives and make a sound decision.

In organisations, this means having the right two-way engagement channels open and thriving.

This Stanford article on Ethical Leadership reiterates that need.

“We need to use both the gut and analytical approaches to decisions, particularly for high-stakes stuff. .... Rely on other people. This requires setting up an organizational structure where it’s OK for the person in charge to be disagreed with or criticized. Highly functioning organizations do that well.”

For change that sticks, get those 2-way communication channels embedded across your organisation.