Imagine you are on a plane, listening to the announcements of the pilot.
Whether or not you realize it, you trust the pilot is well-equipped with the proper training and information to fly the plane safely and precisely to your destination, making the right decisions along the way to lead you there.

Leaders in an organization must make many decisions as they “fly” their organization toward its destination. Often, these decisions must be made quickly amid uncertainty, yet they have significant implications.

Have you ever needed to make an important decision without sufficient information?
Being armed with relevant, reliable information is critical in making wise leadership decisions. Since these leaders do not often have time to gather the needed information, they must rely on teams of people to provide this information—and this team becomes crucial to the organization’s health.

When collecting, organizing, and presenting data to inform a leader’s decisions, several factors must be considered:

1) Is the information relevant?
In our information-rich age, much of our research consists of sorting through which pieces of data are important or unimportant to the issue at hand. The right information must be collected.

2) Is the information accurate?
Of course, the data must also be reliable. An understanding of what source is used is important and should be cited. Is a sample used adequate to support the given conclusion? Or for financial information, are proper accounting processes and procedures in place to ensure current and accurate records are presented?

3) Is the information complete?
Gaps in the information must be identified. Is anyone’s perspective missing? Is additional research needed?

4) Is the information understandable?
Is it presented in a way that is clear, concise, and readable? What is the best way to communicate the information?
We have found that when presenting financial information, using dashboards with charts and graphs is often much more useful and understandable than simply presenting financial statements, numbers, and wordy descriptions. In considering this question, one must consider who the recipient of the information is, what type of information is being presented, and what is needing to be portrayed.

5) Is the information actionable?
Does the information presented provide the leader with what is needed to make a wise and informed decision? When appropriate, recommendations based on the findings can be presented. This requires not simply gathering information but analyzing and understanding the information, the issue, and the context.

These principles should be used across a variety of contexts, but here are three examples SOAR Partners has used:

1) Market Research
Since most of our work is in the social sector, that will be my focus. How do we know that we are accomplishing what we set out to accomplish? What are the actual needs? Does a needs assessment need to be performed or a mechanism for tracking outcomes or feedback need to be established?

Decisions must be made based on the actual needs of those served rather than on assumptions. Often, this means someone must do the work discovering what those needs are and presenting them in a meaningful way to those in positions to make decisions.

This can apply to any products developed or services delivered, whether for a beneficiary of a non-profit organization or a customer of a company.

2) Financial Information
To ensure short- and long-term financial health and sustainability, a manager must have access to meaningful financial information in a timely manner. This information must be presented in a way that is meaningful to the manager to be able to make the necessary day-to-day decisions of running the organization.

3) Project Management
On one level, each project must have a plan in place and mechanisms for tracking the project and its status. A variety of approaches can be used depending on the project and the organization type, size, scope, and context.

Additionally, an organization with numerous simultaneous projects must develop a system for ensuring that projects are on track and are aligned with the overall strategic goals of the organization.

Arming a leader with relevant, accurate, complete, understandable, and actionable information can empower them to make wise decisions for the organization—successfully guiding the plane to the desired destination.

If you are interested in finding a partner to help you and your organization gather, organize, or process the information you need to make decisions, contact us at info@soar.partners.

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