How agile decision making can benefit a business - an interview with Dennis Murphy

For the second in our series of interviews with Dennis Murphy, we’re looking at the power of agile decision making.

Dennis spent more than 25 years managing counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence programmes for the Canadian Federal Government, and now works as a consultant for Gateley, as well as being a senior Canadian liaison officer within the UK. It’s safe to say that he’s had to make some pretty stressful decisions throughout his career, so he knows the importance of doing this in an agile and considered manner.

In this interview, Dennis explains that decision making becomes easier when you make them ‘upon the organisation(s) priorities.’ It’s key therefore, that your people understand what these are in order to make the best decisions. Once they know how the organisation should function, it becomes possible to make decisions that align with that.

When asked about how to make sure your team feel able and empowered to make decisions for themselves, he said that it is absolutely the leader’s responsibility to make sure they feel comfortable enough to do so. He also highlighted the fact that a leader should remain open to learning from those around them, and benefitting from the experience of those with different backgrounds and specialisms – “As much as I was trying to empower them, they were empowering me.”

Take a look at the video below for the full interview with Dennis.