Steer clear of making counter-productive decisions, Ambode to directors
By LAGOS State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, warned directors in the State Public Service against making a counter-productive decision that will harm the system, saying that it was important that all judgments should be deferred until all thoughts were presented, and the group concurred on the best ideas to move things forward.
The governor gave this counsel on Tuesday while speaking at a 2-day training with the theme: ‘High Impact Decision Making Programme for Directors in the Lagos State Public Service,’ held in GRA Ikeja.
Governor Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr Benson Oke, said rather a process-informed decision-making style would ensure that decisions were not made haphazardly or dictated by emotions or the whims and caprice of the decision makers.
According to him, decision- making comprises a series of sequential activities that together structure the process and facilitate its conclusion, contending that the need for senior officers in the State Public Service to develop a decision-making style that would make the proper implementation of government policies effective and would be tuned to achieving intended goals could never be over-emphasised.
“There is the need for senior level executives to appreciate the fundamental differences in the character of their decision-making responsibilities and to develop a decision-making style that is unique to their responsibilities and job description,” Governor Ambode said.
The governor said for directors to make an informed decision, they must establish objectives, classify and prioritise such, “develop selection criteria, identify alternatives, evaluate alternatives against the selection criteria; choose the alternative that best satisfied the selection criteria and implements the decision.”
The governor also enjoined directors to concentrate on the problem at hand in order to keep the discussion very specific and avoids the group’s tendency to address the events leading up to the current problem, as well as entertain all ideas.
“Although brainstorming is the most common technique to develop alternative solutions, executives can also use a variant of the technique such as the Nominal group technique. This method involves the use of a highly structured meeting, complete with an agenda, and restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision‐making process.
“This technique is useful because it ensures that every group member has equal input in the decision‐making process. It also avoids some of the pitfalls, such as pressure to conform, group dominance, hostility, and conflict, that can plague a more interactive, spontaneous, unstructured forum such as brainstorming,” he said.
Ambode, however, expressed hope that directors of the Lagos State Civil Service would become better equipped at the end of the training “to make effective decisions that were rational, informed, and collaborative and thus greatly reducing opportunity costs while building a strong organizational focus.”
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