There are times when a manager isn’t available to make a decision, which causes an employee to take charge of a situation.

As a leader, how comfortable are you with every employee in your organization making the right decision when put in the position to do so?

About a month ago, two employees lost their jobs because they took action without their manager’s involvement. The issue wasn’t because they made a decision without permission but because their decision was inconsistent with the values of the organization. You can read about the situation and its fall-out on social media here.

In this day of instant communication, the repercussions of insensitive or poor judgment in decision making (by anyone) can cost dearly. So can the time and effort necessary for damage control. Yet it’s all avoidable.

Leadership Tip

Empower your employees to make decisions that use common sense and always align with your organization’s values.

How do you succeed in doing this? By providing frequent training.

The most effective training is to role play realistic situations. Teach your employees the correct response to a situation and explain why it’s correct. Also teach them the wrong response to the situation and convey why it’s wrong.

You can also share real-life, relatable circumstances you read or hear about, then ask this question: “What does common sense tell you to do in that case?”

As part of the training, be sure to give permission to your employees to do the right thing in situations they might face. By doing so, ensure they understand what that means and then support them when they do take action.

Most important, as a leader, you cannot assume everyone will do the right thing. Provide the training they’ll need.