Decisions. Have We Been Doing It All Wrong?

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Patrick Malone 
May 19, 2025

There’s a lot of decision-making going on out there. Those who dedicate themselves to public service make choices that impact our citizens every day, and even the most superficial examination into the available options to assist in our decision-making yields more approaches than one can count. We can choose from any number of frameworks, matrices and methodologies to help us make our decisions. Acronyms describing these models abound, as do abbreviations. And let’s not forget processes and equations. They’re all there. The SWOT analysis is very common, the Eisenhower box, the Delphi method, and on and on and on.

All offer options that we can employ to make our decisions more impactful.

Why do we even bother with these approaches? Why build models, run software and employ AI to make decisions? It’s likely because the choices we make in serving the public are meaningful ones. They have impact directly and indirectly on our populations. Many times, these decisions are important ones like assessing a new contractual agreement with a nonprofit or private sector partner. The way we approach our strategic planning could be considered a very important decision. Certainly anything that we consider to be tied to fiscal health or budgeting would be a choice that we would think of as a rather big decision.

The problem is that we often fall prey to spending our time and resources concentrating on the decisions that we consider ‘big’ while we ignore or fail to see the opportunities to make decisions that we might consider small or insignificant. Such is the problem with model-based approaches to decision-making. They emphasize decisions that we have time to think about and to plan for. They focus on choices that we historically consider to be important organizational decisions, such as the ones mentioned above. And when we’ve decided we’re ready to make a decision, they can work. But what about the other decisions with which we are faced? Those we may not even see at first, those that don’t require public input, a gathering of the city council or involvement with political appointees? Those that, when recognized, can have monumental impact on our agencies?

Here’s an example. It was August 28, 1963, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was about to provide one of the most celebrated moments in our nation’s history. During the delivery of this impactful dialogue, a young singer, Mahalia Jackson, yelled to Dr. King, “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” It’s true. When preparing his speech, Dr. King had not included anything related to a dream in his prepared comments. But when prompted by Ms. Jackson, Dr. King made a decision, a seemingly little decision that had big impact to this very day. He began talking about having a dream and the rest is history.

It is very unlikely that Dr. King depended on any of the prominent decision-making models to make the choice that he did at that time. No time to consult the research or read the literature. He was in the moment and made the call. What anyone would have considered a little decision turned out to be one of the most impactful of his life.

Decision moments like this occur every day in our professional lives. For example, when we pass someone in the hallway who may not work at the same level of the organization, do we say hello and take an interest, or do we ignore them? What about when we’re having a conversation with someone who works for us? Do we listen attentively and empathetically, or do we multitask and check our phones? What about when someone on our team fails? Do we respond with grace and forgiveness? None of these examples are traditional, immense organizational choices. They lack the hype and formality that many of our larger departmental decisions have, yet they make a huge difference in the day-to-day culture. They positively impact trust and foster psychological safety. They may appear to be little decisions, but they are not. They matter a lot.

In our haste to understand complex decision-making models and frameworks, let’s not get too caught up in the hype. Let’s not miss the daily decisions that impact our organizations in a very real way. These are the choices that we make, often in the moment, that connect us with other human beings, that cause us to share a smile or a nod at the right time. They are the ones that offer kindness when someone else needs it. The important decisions will always be there, but the little BIG decisions will be the ones that matter most.

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Author: Patrick S. Malone is the Director, Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University.  He is a frequent guest lecturer and author on leadership and organizational dynamics in the public service.  His co-authored book, Leading with Love and Laughter – A Practical Guide to Letting Go and Getting Real was released in Spring 2021. His new co-authored book “Little BIG Decisions – A Leader Imperative for Lasting Impact will be available in Winter 2025. Follow him at sutchmalone.com

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