Decision moments
Sound familiar?
1. BEFORE THE DECISION BECOMES DIFFICULT
We can see a difficult decision looming and want to get it right.
We’re about to make a decision we know will be difficult. We want to get it right from the beginning.
The way a difficult decision is handled in its early stages often shapes everything that follows. We want to build understanding, confidence and momentum from the beginning, rather than trying to rebuild trust later.
We’re about to make a decision people will live with for a long time.
The decision may solve an immediate need, but its consequences will last much longer. How it’s worked through now can determine whether people can accept the outcome, even if it isn’t the one they would have chosen.
2. WHILE THE DECISION IS BECOMING DIFFICULT
The project isn't unfolding as we'd hoped.
We’ve done the engagement. Why are we still getting pushback?
People have been consulted. Information has been provided. Opportunities to participate have been offered. But resistance remains and our usual engagement efforts don’t seem to be changing anything.
The decision makes sense. Why don’t people trust it?
Your technical case is sound, but people can’t follow how your decisions were reached, what was genuinely considered or whether their involvement made any difference.
The project works on paper. Why is it so difficult to deliver?
What looked straightforward is becoming harder. Resistance, mistrust or unresolved concerns are beginning to affect timelines, costs and your organisation’s ability to move forward.
The two sides are becoming more entrenched.
Everyone is talking, but no one is moving. More information and more engagement seem to reinforce existing positions rather than create a way through.
We’ve listened, but people can’t see that it changed anything.
People have had their say, but they can’t see how what was heard relates to what happens next. Despite participating, they’re feeling increasingly disconnected from the actual decision.
3. WHEN PROGRESS HAS STALLED
We need a way forward.
We have to move forward, but we’re never going to get everyone to agree.
The decision has been made. Waiting for consensus isn’t realistic, but pushing ahead risks making the situation even harder.
Different situations. The same underlying challenge.
When agreement isn’t guaranteed but progress is necessary, people need a way forward they can understand and live with.