Are you drowning your leader in choices?
Are you making them feel like they are in the salad dressing aisle or trying to buy a pair of jeans?
Guess what, you’ve engulfed then in the paradox of choice.
Don’t get me wrong.
Leadership is about making choices.
Most of us love choices (I may be an outlier on this)…
But what happens when the choices become overwhelming?
Instead of a liberating experience, the endless sea of options carries us into the abyss of decision fatigue, overanalysis, and worse – paralysis.
This ‘Choice Overload’ doesn’t just ensnare our leaders in its trap, but also impacts our team members.
With too many options, leaders may feel swamped, often passing the buck instead of owning their decisions.
The magic trick is setting constraints on these choices.
Studies suggest a sweet spot around three to eight options to create a perfect harmony between variety and avoidable overwhelm.
There are several ways you can help your leader with this:
- When there are too many options, give them some yes/no decisions at the get go like “We have 12 different choices here, but I want to drill down, can I work with you to eliminate the outliers and bring this down to a reasonable number?”
- Present clear boundaries to your thinking about specific choices. This can give weight to how your leader considers the choices they have. As part of that you want to explain your “big three” and back them up with proofs.
- Use effects based thinking to guide your leader – remind them (gently) about the outcomes the team is seeking and then explain how each option helps. As you go through, ask if the option resonates with them
- Help your leader by actively being part of their circle of trusted confidants. That means that, even if you didn’t bring the conundrum, you are willing to provide them with insight and direction to help limit their choices.
Ultimately, this is an invitation to a another perspective on followership.
Decisions aren’t a duality of right or wrong, they’re an exciting smorgasbord of outcomes, each with their own unique lessons to impart.
Just remember, choices are a blessing, but only when we understand their intricate dance with leadership dynamics.
The paradox of choice can be a beast, but armed with these strategies, we can work with leadership to tame it.
And in doing so we are fostering efficient decision-making, satisfaction, and accountability within our teams.
So, what strategies are you using to reign in the paradox of choice within your team?
I’d love to hear how you are bringing this other aspects of followership into your team. Reach out and let’s talk.
