In the last Snap, we discussed the first of five counterintuitive leadership lessons I learned at Walt Disney World. In this Snap we’ll introduce the second of those five counterintuitive lessons: Don’t make decisions. I will present all five at Training 2020 on February 26, 2020.

Leaders who insist on making all the decisions work twice as hard as those who don’t and find their days filled with minutia. In contrast, leaders who set out parameters and then get out of the way have time to focus on the larger issues that make their business more successful.

So they can focus on those larger issues, Disney has developed a priorities filter for making decisions. Those priorities are as follows.

• Safety – Maintaining an environment free from danger and injury
• Courtesy – Treating all people, especially children, with dignity and respect
• Show – Preserving the magical DIsney experience
• Efficiency – Delivering the most effective systems and procedures

This system allows every team member, at every level to make decisions without having to call a leader. The boat captain in the snap above, for example, needs to keep her passengers safe and happy and has permission to make decisions at the moment of need, not when a leader is available. It is also an effective tool for employee evaluations, commendations, promotions, coaching and, in some unfortunate situations, terminations.

What about you and your business?

• Do you have clearly identified priorities?
• Are they prioritized?
• Do you constantly remind your people of those priorities?
• Do you use those priorities to manage and guide your team?

If not, why not? Or, perhaps you’d rather make every decision yourself.