Basic Structure for Decision Making As a Leader

Observation

One of the easiest leadership tools to learn is also one of the most effective:

SBI — Situation. Behavior. Impact.

The beauty of SBI is its simplicity.

It gives a leader a structure for addressing what happened without getting buried in emotion, assumptions, or personal opinion.

Situation

What happened?

Identify the specific situation and when or where it occurred.

"During yesterday's morning meeting..."

"When you responded to the client email..."

"During Saturday's opening shift..."

Be specific.

Don't generalize.

Behavior

What did you observe?

Describe the actual behavior—not the person's character.

Not:

"You were being disrespectful."

Instead:

"You interrupted the conversation three times while your colleague was speaking."

The distinction matters.

One is an interpretation.

The other is something you can actually observe.

Impact

What did that behavior cause?

Explain the consequence.

Maybe it affected the customer experience.

Maybe it created confusion.

Maybe it damaged trust.

Maybe it made another employee less comfortable speaking up.

Maybe it impacted the team's ability to execute.

The impact connects the behavior to something bigger than the individual.

Beacon Lens

The best feedback doesn't need spin.

It doesn't need exaggeration.

And it doesn't need a leader's emotional interpretation of what happened.

It needs clarity.

SBI forces the conversation back to what actually happened, what the person actually did, and what happened because of it.

That makes feedback easier to understand—and much harder to argue with.

Leadership Principle

Coach the behavior, not the person.

Coaching Question

Can you describe the situation, behavior, and impact without using an assumption, judgment, or opinion?

If you can't, you may not have enough information to coach yet.

1% Better

The next time you need to give difficult feedback, write down three things before the conversation:

Situation: What happened?

Behavior: What specifically did I observe?

Impact: Why does it matter?

Then have the conversation.

Leadership Leaves Clues

Clarity creates accountability.

The Beacon Truth

The more objective your feedback, the more useful it becomes.