Leaders today are often faced with difficulty of making decisions at the crossroads that business brings. Decisions affect the business and sustainability of a company. We all know how difficult it is to live in those moments of turning point when we put the reasons “for” and “against” on the table.

What is so difficult about making a decision? First and foremost, it is lying on the scales of one’s own soul. Let’s imagine that we painted the decision-making with exceptionally positive colors. Then it’s easy to make a decision, everything is so clear and simple!? For various reasons we do not want the negative side of the decision to come to light – we simply do not see it. Mostly, the negative side of the decision is unpleasant for us therefore we don’t want to deal with it. There are also reverse situations when we do not see the positive sides of a situation, instead we paint it only with negative colors. In that casewe don’t see the good side.

Miloš is a young manager who changed a large number of companies by the age of 30. After the first phase of “falling in love” with a company, burning out at work and great motivation, Miloš is facing the first serious problems in business. The initial idealization is fading every day and Miloš is starting to seek a new job. That explains that nothing functions in the current company – from human relations to processes and non-competitive products.All of this is ideal with the competitive company! In the time of the decision, Miloš hid the positive facts about the company in which is working and pointed out the negative ones – in order to escape from the inconveniences that the job sometimes brings. At the same time, he positively transferred everything to the new company in which he is applying for a job. Miloš, like a butterfly, flies from flower to flower because he does not have the will to face the obstacles on the road that awaits him in all companies.

An example of another situation is Irena, who as a manager emphasizes the superiority of her company and the service it sells in comparation to competitors who are bad and incompetent. Her decisions are often irrational because of hiding “under the carpet” and the slightest mention of negativity in herself and the company she runs. Let us suppose she started working on a new project that requires great commitment and dedication.Irena “throws herself” at work with all her power, but at the same time she creates numerous conflicting situations in the team she works with. Irena sees in herself the omnipotence to deal with the project but she does not want to see the other side of the coin – for example, the fear of whether she is capable or the fear desire to work less. Since she is superior,she cannot allowto show that she is scared, which often leads to aggression towards the team.

Decision-making requires from us to be honest with ourselves first and foremost and not cheat on the scales. A well-made decision requires a balance of positive and negative factors. There is no such thing as ideal decision! And when we make a decision – we will gain something but we will also lose something. In business, it is important to stick to the decision and implement it.

When he starts working in a new company, Miloš will know that he made a good decision due to the predominantly positive facts, but he will not idealize the new company. He will be aware that many temptations wait for him. That is when he will look at his decision in a more realistic way and take a step forward in his career. He may decide to stay for a while whatever comes in his way. It will be tough for him once he faces demons at crossroads.

When accepting the new project, Irena could tell the team that she expects success, that she has the energy for the job, but she is also afraid of the outcome as well as the amount of work that she needs to invest. It’s completelyfine to accept that she’s good enough and not perfect. Such decision would give the project a better chance of success because the team’s energy would not be spread on unnecessary conflicts plus both the leader and the team would see reality more realistically.

The above-mentioned is extremely difficult in practice! Crossroads are places of change – the death of the old and the birth of the new. Slavs believed that these were places of transition from one world to another. They also believed that we should not look back when we have passed the crossroads – we are aware that no decision is ideal and that there will be negativity, but we made it because of the predominance of the positive on our scale. That’s why it is important to stick with the decision for some time which contributes to the stability of relations in company and business.

(Published in Biznis magazine, May 20^th 2021)