Making the Consequences Worse

Stanford professor Robert Sutton says that the biggest mistake that bosses make is pretending that employees have a say in decisions when they really don't:

(WSJ illustration)

too often, the consultation of others is a sham. It looks like the real thing, but bosses are just pretending that others’ input has some influence over the final decision.... sham participation contains many of the elements—including deception, disrespect and lack of influence over decisions—that end up discouraging and demotivating employees.

Experienced workers can tell when an issue is still open for discussion. If a strategy consultant has been called, the decision has not been made, but if the consultant is from human resources, watch out for layoffs or at least a cut in benefits.

Painful decisions are not easy, but managers can make the consequences worse in how they're disseminated.