Show Your Work

Most of us have lived through that uncomfortable (or infuriating) moment when we brought a smart decision forward to our board or boss. We expected a quick sign-off and, who knows, maybe some applause. The decision was obviously a good one, right?

Instead, the onslaught of questions begins. Nitpicky questions. Clarifying questions that could be interpreted as micromanagement and a lack of trust.

“Why didn’t you do this instead of that? What about this bit of minutia?”

Instead of nods of approval, you walk out deflated and with more work ahead of you. I hear some version of this from my coaching clients often, even the most seasoned.

These moments spark memories of elementary school math for me.

My teacher (and maybe yours, too) had a favorite phrase, emblazoned in red ink across the top of my worksheets: Show your work. I had the right answer. Why couldn’t she just leave well enough alone?

It took me years (and gallons of metaphoric red ink) to fully understand why she was asking what she was asking. And that aha translated into one of the more useful lessons I share with leaders working with boards.

Most leaders do the work on consequential decisions. They’re running a business, after all. There’s due diligence, weighing of options, and conversations with their team on the way to a smart solution. Then they bring the answer forward just to make sure everyone is looped in. They think of the moment as “informing,” not “debating.” 

For the recipient, the answer (or even the existence of the problem) appears to be coming out of thin air.

“Wait. What are we talking about?”

So, board members and bosses do the natural thing: they go looking for the reasoning (perhaps assuming that it was nonexistent). The only place they can find it is in the details. That’s when the second-guessing and quibbling begins, often in the name of due diligence.

Viewing this from the outside, no one is wrong. It’s more a question of how to ensure that those with final responsibility for signing off on decisions know everything they need to understand the commitment they are making on behalf of the organization (and nothing more).

My fourth-grade teacher knew I got the right answer on that problem. She wanted to know whether I had a methodology that would hold up on the next problem, and the one after that. Seeing my work gave her confidence in my thinking.

Any supervisor is in the same position (whether an individual or 15+ board members). They have accountability for the organization’s performance, and they need to trust that an approach will hold up on the next decision, too.

Showing your work builds trust. They can see the care that went into the recommendation, and they can stay at a level where their insights are most useful.

And, as it goes with trust, the level of detailed information they need will decrease as their trust in your judgment grows.

Showing your work is a lever you pull, not an outlandish demand. You decide what the board needs to see to understand your decision, when they see it, and what kind of input you need, if any. It’s a nice chance to show them what a smart hiring decision they made when they landed you.

There’s another benefit to this practice. Remember partial credit? The teacher could see you got the right answer and that parts of your reasoning were solid.

The same thing happens in organizations. Not all decisions work out. When your board or boss has seen your reasoning and feels good about it, they understand the choice you made and why it made sense at the time. They will give you credit for making a well-thought-out decision and support you through whatever pivots you now need to make.

As part of giving partial credit, your teacher had the opportunity to guide you on where there might have been a gap in your logic or problem-solving process. When board members weigh in to affirm where your reasoning is strong and where it might be even stronger, they become part of the solution and more invested in its outcome.

On major decisions (especially those that don’t work out), it’s better to have had everyone included upfront rather than have them investigate a process they had heard nothing about.

What showing your work looks like

 

Showing your work can be relatively simple, but it’s important to be buttoned up. For a significant recommendation, I suggest covering five points:

• A clear definition of the problem. Understanding what problem you were trying to solve focuses the discussion (rather than leading to advice on topics you didn’t need or want).

• The options you considered. Knowing you had more than one option confirms that you made an informed choice.

• Your decision criteria. Naming what factored into your decision (cost, mission fit, staff capacity, timing?) helps surface why you chose the option you chose (and allows space to hear about criteria you may not have considered).

• Any risks, and how you’ll mitigate them. Sharing risks is proof that you know some decisions miss the mark and that you are planning ahead.

• What you need. Is it input on an aspect of the plan or their awareness of how this decision impacts others? Telling them what you need focuses their critique.  

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Remember: if you are looking for formal approval (like a board vote), there should have been several more touchpoints preceding this one. Unlike a math test, you can (and should) test your thinking out while you are in process.

Each time you show your work, you reinforce that there is a strong process behind your decision-making and that you will benefit from hearing whether you missed something. Over time, the board or your boss learns how you think, and you’ll find you can show a little less because they already trust the method.

And to the leaders who say, “I was hired to make these calls”: absolutely … sort of. You were hired to make smart decisions in service of the organization, whose success is your board’s responsibility. Just because it’s ultimately your decision does not mean that you get to make it in isolation.

In the end, it’s better to have everyone invested in strategic decisions (especially with budget implications). You can own the decision while everyone else knows they had their chance to weigh in.  No surprises.

My fourth-grade teacher was right, it turns out. The answer does matter, but showing your work is what builds confidence and trust.

I’d love to hear what’s worked for you when bringing a big decision to your board or boss. Email me at gary@garybagley.com or DM me on LinkedIn.