Most bosses want their employees to exercise the same kind of judgment they would. This is part of the reason that managers tend to hire people like themselves. The new hires are more likely to go to work and make the same types of decisions that the manager would.

The problem is that we tend to think of people as using judgment, making decisions, or solving problems on their own. That’s why they were hired, right?

Wrong. People are more often hired so that they can make use of the people around them. We like people who are team players. Sure we like our leaders to be decisive, but the best leaders take a lot of input and then make good judgment calls.

When we are asked to coach executives who are demonstrating poor judgment, the first question we have to ask is who that leader is listening to. Who are the people providing input and influence?

Leaders don’t exercise judgment in a vacuum. Good leaders know how to tap into the expertise around them.

Jevon Powell