Why Great Decisions Fail

As a manager, have you ever made a decision you thought was brilliant, only to watch it unravel during execution?

 Maybe higher management didn’t fully support your idea. Or perhaps the people whose cooperation you needed didn’t follow through as you expected. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And this article is for you.

 Dr. Ichak Adizes teaches that for any decision to succeed in execution, three key elements must align: authority, power, and influence.

 Understanding how these forces work — and how they interact — can mean the difference between a decision that sticks and one that falls apart.

The Three Pillars of Execution

     •           Authority is the legal right to say “yes” or “no.” Who holds authority depends on the type of decision, but it often sits at higher levels of management. In highly centralized organizations, it may rest entirely with the founder or CEO.

     •           Power is the ability to grant or withhold expected cooperation. Whoever you depend on to implement your solution has power. Usually, this lies with the workers, the people who do the work to bring the decision to life.

     •           Influence is the ability to get others to act without using authority or power. It often comes from technical knowledge or specialized expertise.

Why Managers Get It Wrong

A common mistake managers make is assuming that having authority is enough. They define the solution, issue instructions, and expect others to comply.

While this top-down approach might be necessary in emergencies, it often backfires in everyday situations. Why?

Because the solution becomes management’s solution, not that of the teams. Without buy-in from those with power, implementation can be quietly undermined or delayed. And without input from those with influence, critical insights may be missing, making the solution flawed or impractical.

The Collaborative Alternative

When time allows, resist the urge to dictate. Instead, bring the right people to the table:

        1.      Identify stakeholders with power and influence over the decision.

        2.      Explain the situation and establish the need for everyone’s cooperation.

        3.      Facilitate a collaborative discussion to craft a solution together.

Here’s the key: Don’t present your solution upfront. Doing so frames it as your idea, which can trigger resistance. Instead, guide the group to co-create a plan of action.

At the end of the process, the person with authority still has the final say. But by the time the decision is made, those with power and influence will have contributed to their perspectives. This transforms the decision into the group’s solution — not just management.

It’s not always easy, but it works. Collaborative problem-solving isn’t simple. The interests of authority, power, and influence often conflict.

For example, what’s in the best interest of senior management may not align with what frontline workers want. Further, different people will naturally have different priorities, opinions, and personalities, making collaborative decision-making complicated and often frustrating.

 But when done right, the resulting decisions are:

• More comprehensive and realistic.

•  Easier to implement.

•  Supported by higher levels of buy-in.

 This process doesn’t just create better decisions. It creates stronger teams and a healthier organizational culture.

The First Step

The book, “The Foundational Challenge,” presents an approach to collaborative problem solving. It offers a valuable introduction to how to balance authority, power, and influence when making decisions, not only from a theoretical perspective, but also with practical applications.