Communicate a decision by saying what was decided, why, what is still uncertain and when it will be looked at again, in plain words and in that order, to everyone it affects at the same time. People accept hard decisions more readily when they understand the reasoning and have been treated fairly in the process, and they resist most when they learn of a change secondhand.
Part of Leadership Psychology in Crisis
Communicating decisions is how a leader turns a private choice into shared understanding, and it affects compliance as much as the choice itself.
The Message Is Part Of The Decision
A sound decision badly announced can fail, and a mediocre one explained well can succeed, because the group has to carry it out. The parent article gives three habits: always explain the why, acknowledge what you do not know, and admit mistakes quickly. Each has its own article: Explaining the Why and Acknowledging Uncertainty. This article covers the overall shape of the message.
A Four-Part Message
Step 1: The decision, first and plainly. “We are moving camp to the east ridge, starting tomorrow morning.” Do not make people wait through the background to learn what is happening. Fear fills any delay.
Step 2: The reason. Name the fact that drove the decision. “The water here has turned bad and the east spring is clean.”
Step 3: What is not known. “We have not walked the whole route. If it is blocked we will camp at the river and reconsider.”
Step 4: What happens next, and who to ask. Who does what, by when, and where questions go. Add when the decision will be reviewed.
Leave out blame, long justifications and apologies for deciding. The message is a coordination tool.
Who Hears It, And How
- Everyone affected, at once. A decision passed down through a chain of people changes shape and reaches some a day late, and those people will notice they were not told directly. A shared meal, an assembly or a notice board is better than a chain of messages. See Communication Systems.
- Say it aloud and also write it where there is writing. People forget a spoken announcement, and the written version settles later arguments about what was decided. See Decision Archives.
- Leave room for questions. A short period for questions, on the spot, shows where the message failed to land. It also lets someone who knows more point out an error before it costs anything.
Fairness Of Process Matters As Much As Outcome
Research on legal and workplace settings, associated with John Thibaut and Laurens Walker in the 1970s and later Tom Tyler, found that people accept unfavourable outcomes better when the process seems fair: they had a chance to speak, the decider was neutral and respectful, and reasons were given. (From memory; I have not rechecked the specifics, and these studies were done in courts and workplaces rather than survival groups.) The finding fits the common experience that a ruling people dislike but understand is less damaging than one they cannot account for.
When The Decision Must Be Communicated Under Pressure
In an emergency there may be no time for four parts. Give the order and the reason in a sentence each, and the rest afterward: “Everyone to the upper floor now, the river is rising.” Then do the full explanation as soon as the danger has passed. A group that is told the reason after a fast order learns to trust the next fast order.
Common Mistakes
- Announcing through someone else when the news is bad. It reads as avoidance.
- Overexplaining. A long defence of a decision invites argument about every point in it. Give the main reason.
- Never closing the loop. If you said you would review the decision on Friday, do so and report the result, even if nothing changed.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Explaining the Why — giving reasons that people can test
- Combine with: Meeting Facilitation — running the gathering where decisions are announced