Crisis Points
Decision-Making Under Pressure
This is the second article in my 8-part series for The B:Side Way, exploring leadership lessons from the late Roman Republic. Today, we dive into one of the most crucial aspects of leadership: handling crisis points and making decisions under pressure. The Romans had a word for those moments when everything hung in the balance—discrimen. It describes that split second when a leader’s decision can make or break the future.
In the business world, we face our own discrimen moments more often than we’d like. Whether it’s navigating a financial crisis, responding to market disruptions, or handling sudden organizational challenges, leaders are constantly asked to make high-stakes decisions without knowing the full consequences. How we prepare for and act in those moments can define the future of our organizations.
Understanding Discrimen: The Point of No Return
In Roman history, discrimen moments were those split-second decisions that determined the fate of the Republic. The term is more than just a moment of danger—it’s a turning point. It was the instance when a leader had to either act or be paralyzed by indecision, and the consequences of that choice would ripple for years to come. Julius Caesar’s hesitation at the Rubicon, as we discussed in the last article, was one of those moments.
The thing about discrimen is that it never feels like the “right” time to make a decision. By its very nature, a crisis is filled with uncertainty. Leaders often don’t have all the information, and the pressure can be overwhelming. But leaders are judged not by the ease of their decisions, but by their ability to act decisively when it matters most.
Preparing for Crisis: Building the Muscle for Fast Decision-Making
The key to handling discrimen moments isn’t just about making the right decision on the spot—it’s about preparing yourself and your team for the unknown. In today’s fast-moving business environment, crises are inevitable, but being unprepared shouldn’t be.
Here are some strategies to help leaders prepare for high-stakes moments:
1. Create Decision Frameworks
One of the most effective ways to prepare for crises is to establish decision-making frameworks. These are predefined systems or processes that can guide you in moments of uncertainty. In the military, for example, soldiers are trained to follow certain procedures under fire. They don’t have time to deliberate, so they rely on frameworks that have been drilled into them. Similarly, leaders should create decision matrices, criteria, or guiding principles that help simplify complex choices.
2. Foster Decentralized Decision-Making
In a crisis, there’s rarely time to gather everyone and deliberate at length. That’s why strong leaders encourage decentralized decision-making. Empowering your team to make decisions in real-time not only speeds up the process but also allows the organization to be more agile. This was a key feature of Julius Caesar’s leadership style during his military campaigns—he trusted his officers to make tactical decisions on the battlefield. In modern business, leaders should give their teams the authority to make decisions without having to go through endless layers of approval.
3. Train for Uncertainty
Crisis moments often paralyze leaders because they don’t feel equipped to handle the situation. But just as soldiers drill repeatedly for battle, businesses should regularly engage in scenario planning. Imagine different crisis points—whether it’s a market collapse, a product failure, or a PR disaster—and walk through the decision-making process. This preparation helps leaders feel more confident when they face real-world crises, knowing they’ve already thought through worst-case scenarios.
The Discomfort of Decision-Making: Facing Uncertainty with Resolve
One of the hardest parts about discrimen moments is the lack of certainty. You never know how things will play out. But hesitation can often be more dangerous than making a bold, well-considered move. Leadership in these moments requires not just intellect but also resolve. The ability to make a decision and commit to it, even when the future is unclear, is what separates effective leaders from those who crumble under pressure.
Let’s bring this back to modern business. Imagine you’re the CEO of a company in the midst of a public relations crisis. Social media is buzzing, your stock price is dropping, and the board is looking to you for an immediate response. This is your discrimen moment. Do you take the time to gather all the facts and risk the narrative spiraling out of control, or do you act quickly, issuing a statement and taking responsibility before you know the full story?
Neither choice is easy, and both come with risks. But inaction isn’t an option. As a leader, your ability to assess the situation quickly and act decisively is key. Like Caesar at the Rubicon, you must weigh the consequences of both action and inaction and then move forward with resolve.
Speed and Decisiveness: Acting in the Moment
In today’s business environment, speed matters. Market conditions change rapidly, customer needs shift, and competition moves faster than ever. Leaders who wait too long to make decisions often find that the opportunity has passed or the crisis has deepened.
Here are a few ways to improve speed and decisiveness in crisis situations:
1. Cut Through the Noise
In a crisis, there’s often too much information—some of it useful, much of it not. Part of being a decisive leader is being able to sift through the noise and focus on the most critical factors. This means identifying the key decision points early on and ignoring the rest. It’s easy to get bogged down in details, but great leaders are able to see the big picture even under pressure.
2. Trust Your Team
Leaders don’t have to make every decision themselves. In fact, in most discrimen moments, it’s impossible to do so. A well-prepared team can act decisively if they’ve been empowered to do so. Trusting your team to handle their responsibilities not only speeds up decision-making but also creates a culture where people feel confident stepping up in times of crisis.
3. Accept Imperfection
In high-pressure moments, there is rarely a perfect solution. Leaders need to accept that their decisions might not always be flawless, but what’s most important is the ability to act. Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon wasn’t a perfect decision—he wasn’t sure how the Senate or even his own forces would respond. But he acted decisively, and that boldness set the stage for his eventual triumph.
Leading Through Crisis Points
Discrimen moments are inevitable in leadership. Whether you’re managing a company or leading a team, you’ll face points where the pressure to act quickly and decisively is overwhelming. The lesson from the Roman Republic is that leaders who prepare for these moments—and who act with resolve when they come—are the ones who navigate crises successfully.
In the end, leadership isn’t about avoiding pressure or uncertainty. It’s about mastering the art of decision-making under those very conditions. Like Caesar at the Rubicon, great leaders know when to act, even when the future is uncertain. They trust in their preparation, in their team, and in their ability to steer the organization through any storm.