Explain the reason for a decision with a fact the group can check for itself, such as the contaminated spring or the falling grain count, and a stated link from that fact to the decision. A reason people can verify makes them partners in carrying it out; a vague reason, or one made up to sound better, costs more trust than giving none, because the first discrepancy exposes it.
Part of Leadership Psychology in Crisis
Explaining the why is giving the reasons for a decision in a form the listeners can test against their own knowledge.
An Order Without A Reason Leaves A Gap
The parent article contrasts “We’re moving camp” with “We’re moving camp because the water source is contaminated and the nearest clean source is two miles east”. The second does three things the first cannot. It gives people something to act on if circumstances differ from the plan, because they know the goal. It allows someone who knows the ground to say “the east trail floods in rain”. And it shows the leader is treating them as capable adults.
The practical value is at the edges. A group that knows why can cope when the plan breaks. A group that only knows what is lost when the leader is absent or the situation changes.
What Makes A Reason Usable
It names an observable fact. “The well is down to a hand’s depth, and it was knee-deep a week ago” can be walked over and looked at. “Conditions are deteriorating” cannot.
It links the fact to the decision. Say what follows from the fact. “So we cannot water the herd here past this week, and moving them is the way to keep them alive.” Skipping the link leaves people to guess.
It states the alternatives you rejected. One sentence: “We considered digging deeper; with our tools that would take longer than the water lasts.” This heads off the objection and shows the choice was weighed.
It admits the part that is judgment. Not every reason is a fact. If part of the case is a guess about what other groups will do, say that (see Acknowledging Uncertainty).
Method: Preparing The Explanation
Step 1: Write the decision in one sentence. If it will not fit, it is not yet clear.
Step 2: List the facts that drove it. Strike any that you cannot support if asked.
Step 3: Test it on one sceptical person. Ask a trusted member who tends to disagree: “Does that make sense? What would you ask?” Answer the question in the announcement.
Step 4: Give it once, clearly. Repeat the main reason on request but do not reopen the decision at every mention.
Where Reasons Cannot Be Given
Some reasons cannot be shared: a negotiation in progress, a security matter, a person’s private health. In that case say so. “I cannot give the full reason for this, and it is a limit on what I can say, not a lack of one.” Then the question is whether the group trusts the leader enough to accept this, which is a direct measure of how much credit has been built (see Earned vs Assumed Leadership). Use it rarely.
Fairness And Voice
Studies of how people respond to authority, associated with Tom Tyler, find that having reasons given and having a chance to be heard both raise acceptance of unwelcome decisions. (From memory; not rechecked, and the studies were not of survival groups.) A reason offered along with a real chance to raise objections is stronger than a reason alone.
Common Mistakes
- Inventing a reason that sounds better. A false reason is discovered, and then every later reason is doubted.
- Giving a reason that is really a justification of status. “Because I said so” is a position, not a reason.
- Too many reasons. A list of ten invites attack on the weakest. Give the strongest two or three.
- Using the why to end discussion. A reason is meant to be examined. If it cannot stand a question, the decision may need rethinking.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Acknowledging Uncertainty — saying what the reasons do not cover
- Combine with: Information Hoarding — the failure that undercuts all explanation