Good Self-Esteem Equals Good Business Decisions

Business leaders are the ultimate decision makers. As it has been said, if Moses went up to the mountain with a committee, he would have never come back down. After getting input, it is the leader who has to say what it is that needs to be done. The higher the leader’s self-esteem the more the decision will be made based on what is good for the company. Lower self-esteem invites the clouding of judgment by the need to be liked or gain approval and makes it more challenging to be clear on the right choice, as opposed to the easy or popular choice.

One of my clients recently fired a member of his management team. She was well liked by her staff and colleagues, and he liked her too. However, her reports were full of errors, and she wasn’t directing her staff to work in sync with the company’s mission. He had spent time explaining the problems with her performance, and how to remedy them, but things didn’t change. He fired her and dealt with the fall out.

Effective decision making requires self-awareness, an essential element of high self-esteem. You need to know how you feel, so you can know if you are acting on your feelings or what is best for your company. Sometimes these two things are the same, but sometimes what makes you feel good is not good for business.

Here’s some things to consider when differentiating between what is best for you and what is best for your business. I will use the example given above:

-How will this decision make things better for the organization? Getting a new manager who is efficient and brings the staff into alignment with the company’s mission will save time, raise morale, increase production and profits.

-How will this decision affect employees? In the short run the employees will be upset about losing a well liked manager, and anxious about a firing and the unknown replacement. In the long run, they will feel better about themselves, their jobs and the company, and increase the likelihood of being successful in their jobs.

-How will this decision affect me? The decision will favor the company rather then make the leader look like a nice guy. He will gain more respect for his leadership skills, and he will feel better about himself knowing that he made the right decision for the company.

Low self-esteem in a leader can be deadly, and raising self-awareness enables leaders to increase self-esteem and make decisions with a clear mind.