SENALOSA

There was a good article in the Wall Street Journal today titled "How Understanding the Why of Decisions Matters." In it the author notes the importance of involving people in decisions to increase their buy-in and support for the issue at hand. Noting that it's not always possible to involve every employee in a decision, however, he goes on to suggest that the next best thing is to make employees feel as if they were involved by clearly communicating the "why" and "how' of a decision.

While this may seem like common sense, in practice many executive teams fail to follow this simple advice, often to their detriment. Some executives may feel too busy or overwhelmed to take the time to share every facet of a decision with employees, thinking in the end the conclusions should be obvious. This is definitely not the case. When it comes to the Balanced Scorecard all employees will be wondering first and foremost, why? Why the Balanced Scorecard and why now? The executive team may have taken considerable time and effort answering this question, examining the dynamics of the market, their place in it, and ultimately determining that a strategy execution tool is critical. However, until that is clearly communicated to an often skeptical and change-weary employee base it's just another corporate office rule to be blindly followed.

If you're looking for a more straightforward reason to share decisions with employees look no further than the most flourishing vegetation in any organization - the grapevine. If you don't take the time and energy to provide a concise and convincing answer to "why" you're pursuing a particular course you can be sure the more creative of your teams are more than willing to fill the void, and let's just say they're probably not going to be quoting the company line. Remember, first "why", then "what."