Making Effective Decisions example: resolving friction between colleagues or teams

SLeading a workstream, I could see that resolving friction between colleagues or teams was undermining a wider objective my Grade 7 cared about, even though our local metric still looked acceptable.

TI needed to redesign our approach so local delivery supported the broader outcome, not just our immediate target.

AI analysed the evidence, mapped stakeholders and wrote a short options note linking our work to the wider priority. I tested the preferred option with operations and a peer team, agreed success measures in advance, and briefed my senior on risks and trade-offs. I implemented the change with clear owners, coached the people affected, and reviewed MI weekly so we could course-correct. This demonstrated Making Effective Decisions through concrete actions rather than slogans. I checked progress against the measures we had agreed and adjusted the plan when leading indicators moved. I kept a short decision log so others could see why we chose this path and what we had ruled out. I briefed the people doing the work in plain language, including what would stop as well as what would start. I made sure the result could be evidenced with MI or feedback rather than relying on assertion alone. I invited a peer to challenge the approach before we locked it in, which improved the final design.

RWithin a month the leading indicator improved and the senior reused our note as a template for a related issue.