Does your team seem to question every decision? (141-1)

Responsible leaders can answer the questions “Where are we going?” and “How do we get there?” Read Proverbs 24:3-4.

The wording in Living Bible paraphrase helps Proverbs 24:3-4 come alive by using everyday English. It says, “Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.” Leaders can get their hands around simple words like planning, common sense, and keeping up with changes that affect their organization. It is a pretty simple formula, but if you drop any one of the three elements your leadership can become ineffective.

The pressure to succeed tends to force leaders to develop planning skills and staying abreast of the current facts is generally addressed at least in part by everyday work such as purchasing, investing, research and development, etc. The element most often left undeveloped is a leader functioning with common sense. The lack of common sense for most leaders is expressed pretty well by one of my mom’s many one liners, “Common sense isn’t all that common.”

Common sense refers to sound practical judgment derived from experience rather than study. Common sense is everyday wisdom applied to our activities and actions. Common sense is not making the same mistakes on the next project that were made on the last project. Common sense is spotted immediately by the team and when common sense is present, it gives confidence in the planning process and implementation strategy.

To apply common sense leaders generally need to just relax, look at the big picture elements involved in the decision, draw out the lines on what can and will be affected by the decisions being made, and look at the project through the eyes of those who will be doing the work to implement the project. Often just listening to the team will give some insights that will later be interpreted as common sense. When wise leaders discover they just don’t have common sense they find members of their team that do and involve them heavily in the process. According to Proverbs 24:3-4, a leader’s enterprise will not become strong if the element of common sense is neglected.

Are you constantly making the same mistakes that cost time, money and morale? Are you constantly up against last minute decisions and deadlines? Does your team seem to question every decision and have little confidence that decisions and plans will work? Effective leaders use these signs to check the common sense factor.