Can we talk about last minute decisions?
There is value in taking all the time you need to make a decision. Perhaps new information will come in and change the outcome. Perhaps the information will help a large majority come to a consensus on the right decision.
But waiting until the last minute has massive downsides, too.
Waiting puts anxiety on everyone waiting for your decision.
Waiting takes away the planning time you inevitably need after a decision is made.
Waiting eliminates certain possibilities because they need more time than you’ve left.
Waiting stresses people out.
Waiting means more work for the decision-maker, too, as you continue to struggle.
One of the biggest criticisms I have of the overall handling of this pandemic is how often leaders at every level have waited, waited, waited to make inevitable decisions. We are currently awaiting word on what should be obvious – that students shouldn’t return to school for the final eight days of instruction between now and Winter Break in Michigan.
It’s obvious to me, reading statistics and learned analysis, that it’s the right choice. It’s certainly clear to many of the students I interact with, who at this point yearn more for predictability and consistency than for any particular “learning modality.”
It’s probably obvious to the leaders who will make the decisions.
And yet we wait. And in that waiting, we stress. Teachers are unable to prepare, or must prepare for multiple wildly different scenarios. Students are paralyzed by the not knowing.
Last minute decisions might give you a slightly higher percentage of making a consensus decisions. But at what cost?