For the past several weeks in our discussion regarding decision-making in leadership, we have explored the difference between that which is ultimately good or just currently popular , discussed the need to assess whether a decision under consideration is really valuable or simply cheap/inexpensive, and most recently, whether a choice is a smart investment or just a quick (hasty) fix.
This week we consider a question useful for reflection when making a decision, namely, “Is it ultimately right or just barely legal?” The issue at hand in this question should cause us ponder exactly “how close to the line” we want to tread with a decision that could have legal consequences.
The headlines of stories in the daily news are replete with tales of leaders who ultimately took it one step too far because they chose to make decisions that were so close to the line that they finally “crossed the line” into unauthorized territory.
This is not to imply that one should stay so far inside the line that potential decisions are rejected on the basis of the fear of making a mistake. Rather it is to affirm that the real question to consider is whether the decision is ultimately right - and therefore inherently well-within the spirit of the requisite laws.
Decisions made by leaders are not without their risks. The point in reviewing questions such as this one is to help all of us to ponder a bit before we move ahead and find ourselves in foreign territory.
And so as a decision looms before us it can be valuable to pause and ask ourselves, “Is it ultimately right - or just barely legal?”
Photo Credit: Abigail Keenan