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Rutendo Gwatidzo-Changing Perspectives
The boardroom was unusually quiet. A fast-growing local company had just promoted a long-serving employee into a senior role.
Everyone liked him. He was loyal, warm and had “been there from the beginning.” But then, six months later, the results told a different story. Deadlines were missed, the team was confused, and performance declined. The problem wasn’t lack of effort or character. It was lack of knowledge and fitness. The decision had been made with the heart, not the head and the business paid the price. The bible says that for lack of knowledge people perish. While character is good, knowledge is critical.
The common Mistake!
This is a mistake many of us make, in leadership, careers, relationships, and even finances – we make decisions with the heart instead of the head. Emotions are powerful, but they are poor chief executive officers and board chairpersons.
They react, they rush, and they rarely read the full data set. Logic, on the other hand, asks hard questions, weighs trade-offs, and thinks long term. As Warren Buffett puts it, “Emotions are the enemy of rational investing.” The same applies to life in general.
Organisational Status!
In many corporate environments, emotional decision-making often shows up as avoiding tough conversations, keeping underperformers because we “feel bad,” or launching projects because they sound exciting rather than viable.
It feels kind in the short term, but it is costly in the long run. Real leadership is not about being liked or being friends with everyone. It is about being effective.
As Peter Drucker said, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Doing the right thing often requires uncomfortable clarity. The common challenge in many organisations is that they have managers instead of leaders.
Managers whose focus is doing things right, do lack logic sometimes because they tend to follow routines even when they are no longer viable. If only as many organisations could have as many leaders, they will focus on doing the right things according to logic and viability and that approach would probably save many companies from collapsing.
Getting Personal!
The same principle applies at a personal level. Many people stay in toxic arrangements, overspend, or delay critical moves because their emotions are in charge. The heart usually says, “What if it gets better?” But, the head will ask, “What does the evidence say?” The heart protects feelings while the head protects the future. The heart tends to avoid or ignore unpleasant outcomes because they feel uncomfortable. Please note, ignoring facts doesn’t make them disappear – it simply postpones the impact.
Making decisions with the head does not mean emotions are irrelevant. They are valuable data points but, they should not be the only source of decision making.
Think of emotions as dashboard warning lights. They signal discomfort, excitement, fear, or hope but, you still need a map, destination, and a strategy. Mature decision-making is about balance. Acknowledge the feelings but then, validate with knowledge and logic.
High Impact Results!
High-performing organisations institutionalise this discipline. They use KPIs, risk assessments, scenario planning, and peer reviews precisely to reduce emotional bias. Individuals should do the same. Pause before major decisions and ask relevant questions. What are the facts? What are the options? What is the cost of each choice in six months, one year, five years? If this decision was made by someone else, what advice would I give them?
Hard Truth!
Decisions driven purely by emotion feel good now but, in most cases they hurt later. Decisions driven by clear thinking may feel hard now but pay dividends later. Growth requires delayed gratification and strategic courage.
Call To Action!
Today’s call to action is simple but demanding. Before your next big decision, be it at work, home, or in your finances or relationship, just to mention a few -slow down. Separate feelings from facts. Let your heart inform you, but let your head lead you. Because the future you are building doesn’t need comfort, it needs clarity.
Rutendo Gwatidzo is a human capital executive and managing consultant at The HUB HR Consultancy. She is a multi-Award winning leader, transformational speaker and coach. She is also the author of Born to Fight and Breaking the Silence books. Contact details – 0714575805/ [email protected] / Rutendo Gwatidzo_Official FB public page.
