|
|
|
|
 |
| |
LEAP: THE TRUST, INC. DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
LEAP is an ethical decision-making process that is meant to be applied to issues that hold the potential to build or undermine trust with both internal and external stakeholders, demanding both on-going or immediate attention.
The steps comprise an easy-to-remember acronym “LEAP”, enabling the reader to make use of the model even under pressured circumstances. The letters stand for Learn everything you can, Evaluate your options, Access your intuition and Put your solutions to the test. Each of these important action steps comprises a chapter in section two.
Step One: Learn Everything You Can
When faced with an issue capable of building or damaging organizational trust, step one is to answer as many questions as possible before an assessment of what one ought to do can even be preliminarily considered.
What are all the relevant facts and data? In this chapter, the reader will be shown the importance of gathering complete information and equally important, how to sort through it to retrieve what is most pertinent to the situation at hand.
Of particular importance is the disciplined search for root causes. Trust, Inc. is not about putting out fires—it’s about breaking through bias and fear, complacency and cynicism to seek the authentic issues that demand to be addressed.
Step Two: Evaluate Your Options
You may (and will) have your opinions, biases and feelings. You may be tempted to go for a quick-fix solution that doesn’t get to the real root of the problem.
What separates those who thrive from those who falter is the ability to consider the impact of an action they may take not just now, but down the road, and not just for them—but for their organization, constituencies and world.
In this step, the reader is guided to handle the facts responsibly. What are all the possible future scenarios based on the impact of an action you are considering taking.
Will the impact of the decision be more likely to build or breach trust? The authors provide specific guidance on identifying and analyzing alternatives.
Step Three: Access Your Intuition
Most decision-making processes stop here, relying solely on logic and deductive reasoning to arrive at a solution. Even the best-reasoned process can fail to pass the test of common sense, however.
Human beings are complex, with emotional and spiritual as well as intellectual and physical needs to be factored in. You may not always have the time to go through a methodical assessment of the facts. Here’s where we come full circle to our original discussion of trust being a skill that can be learned.
If there is a discrepancy between your values and organizational goals, you will have the means and motivation to make the effort to address the gap. And finally, you will come face-to-face with the essential decision-making question: Not only what should I, but what must I do?
Step Four: Put Your Decision to the Test
When it comes to decision-making, knowing your values can sometimes feel like a terrible nuisance . . . but it’s also the key not only to self-respect, but to organizational vitality.
These aren’t just empty words, however. The leader is willing to put his or her decisions to the test.
|
|
|
|
