The Workplace Mirror: Before the Decision Is Made

ONE THING workplaces have quietly taught me over the years is this: Leadership is not only about helping people make better decisions. Sometimes it is about helping them think more clearly before they make them.

Imagine two managers receiving the same resignation letter. The first acknowledges the employee’s decision, initials the letter, and forwards it to Human Resources.The second pauses. “May I ask what led to your decision?” “Have you thought it through?”

“Is there anything you may not have considered?”

Neither manager is trying to make the decision for the employee. Neither is treating the employee like a child. Both recognise that adults are responsible for making their own choices.

The difference is that one manager simply processes the decision. The other creates space for reflection before the decision becomes final.

That distinction stayed with me because it reminded me of another workplace situation. An employee was offered specialised training and certification at the organisation’s expense. Before accepting the opportunity, the employee asked two questions. “Will my salary increase?”The answer was no. “Will my title change?”

Again, the answer was no.

The employee declined the opportunity.

Many people might conclude that the employee simply failed to recognise the value of what was being offered. Perhaps.

But as I reflected on the situation, I found myself wondering whether another opportunity had also been overlooked, a leadership opportunity.

If I had been having that conversation, I would not have stopped at answering the employee’s questions.

I would have tried to help the employee consider something they had not yet considered. The certification would become theirs.

The knowledge would become theirs. The capability would become theirs.The organisation would benefit from that investment only while the employee remained there.The employee, however, could benefit from it throughout an entire career—every future opportunity requiring that certification, every role where that skill created additional value, and every employer who recognised the capability they now possessed.

The more I reflected on both situations, the more I realised they were really about the same thing.

Leadership is not always demonstrated by making decisions for people. Sometimes, the greatest value a leader adds is expanding another person’s perspective before they make their own decision. Helping them recognise possibilities they may not yet see.

Helping them consider consequences they may not yet have explored. Helping them discover opportunities hidden within the decisions before them.

This is not about persuading people to stay; nor is it about convincing people to accept every opportunity presented to them.

It is about recognising that some of the most important conversations in leadership occur before a decision becomes final.

Because people do not always need someone to decide for them, sometimes they simply need someone who helps them see further than they can see on their own.

Perhaps one of the more important leadership questions is this:When people bring important decisions to us, are we merely acknowledging them, or are we helping them discover what they may not yet have considered?

TheWorkplace Mirror reflection:Workplaces do not only function, they reflect.

Karen James is a leadership advisor, author, speaker, and founder of TheWorkplace Mirror, a body of work and leadership framework that helps leaders and organisations uncover hidden opportunities, expand perspective, and strengthen organisational effectiveness. She is also the founder of TheWise Professional, helping people and organisations make wiser workplace decisions.

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