March Feature

Monthly Lessons in Leadership from the Daily News

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Olympics put Officials on Display—Not Just the Athletes

What every leader needs to remember about decision making

While you’re still recovering from the hockey game and reflecting on the fine points of landing a triple lutz, curling a draw shot, and throwing a double mctwist 1260 (with cheese), let’s add to the list what we might learn about leadership from the Winter Olympics. While the athletes made the impossible look easy and danger look fun, the planners, judges and referees were sometimes in the spotlight more than the competitors—not for their athleticism but for their decision-making.

Olympic athletes should be allowed to race, shoot and objectively score their way to the medal podium or do their best in the process. But circumstances interfere, the weather doesn’t cooperate, or variables change unexpectedly during an event—the nature of competition. When subjectivity is an integral part of the scoring, judges appear to let their biases affect the outcome--the nature of humanity. In 2010, however, the event managers were under the microscope for their roles in the outcomes—the nature of decision-making.  

Sleds, skates, and skis 

On the sliding course, athletes, coaches, and officials agreed that the track was too fast and dangerous; unfortunately their consensus was not evident until after Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed making a practice run. The course was quickly shortened to reduce top speeds, and a safety barrier was erected. The decision to build the fastest sliding track in history was meant to foster excitement and set world records, but the unintended consequence was the tragic death of a young athlete.   

At another venue, the first runs of the women’s giant slalom got under way in less-than-ideal conditions and with less-than-ideal results. Lindsey Vonn spun out and crashed near the end of her first run, but there was no time to alert Julie Mancuso, who had already entered the course. Mancuso had to be stopped before reaching the accident and transported back to the start line, a confusing snowmobile relay to the top. Her next try was attempted in much worse conditions, both physical and mental, and the rest of that day’s runs were postponed, perhaps casting some doubt on the decision to run the slalom that day.  

The behind-the-scenes decisions (i.e., putting two racers on the course at one time, rushing to get all the runs in on the first day, transporting Mancuso abruptly to the top of the slope) were meant to keep the event on schedule.  But the unintended consequence was to put a dangerous burden on the racers, which changed the final outcome of the event and the course of people’s lives. 

At the speed-skating oval, sure-fire gold medalist Sven Kramer, was disqualified after completing the 10,000-meter event, not for his decisions but for his coach’s. The errant official instructed Kramer from the sidelines to skate his final eight laps in the wrong lane, which caused the disqualification even though Kramer had the fastest time. The coach surely meant to correct what he saw as an unfolding error and keep his skater on course, but the consequence was the complete undoing of his protégée’s medal chances. 

Your decisions affect people’s lives, too 

As a manager, your decisions may be equally well intentioned, but your consequences can be just as harsh. Furthermore, when you make quick decisions about whom to hire and fire, “pencil-whip” your performance appraisals, or make significant changes without input, you risk the same kinds of outcomes. You affect people’s lives every day. 

Don’t wing it. Make your decisions the highest quality possible by: gathering sufficient data, developing criteria, using your group’s resources wisely, utilizing time to full advantage, comparing the pros and cons of each alternative, making contingency plans for short- and long-term eventualities, and communicating proactively with all stakeholders. Take courses on decision-making. Adopt a decision-making model, and practice making decisions under varied situations and constraints.  

Good leaders know the depth of their responsibility. But they also come to terms with the fact that their judgments will sometimes yield negative outcomes.  These Olympic officials did not necessarily make bad decisions, but the decisions they made sometimes had bad consequences—the nature of leadership. This can’t deter them (or you) from making the highest-quality decisions with the information available. You affect people’s lives, and it’s your job.