It may sound blindingly obvious, but you tend to make better decisions when you make them at the right time.

When you are ready to make them. When you have all the information you need, input from all the right people and have had time to weigh up all the options and think things through.

Trustees’ decisions can have wide ranging financial impacts for both individuals and companies, and if they make a decision without going through a proper process, that decision, and the trustee board itself, will be more vulnerable to challenge.

But trustee business moves at such a fast pace these days that trustees need to make decisions quickly and efficiently to keep things moving and avoid building up a backlog.

This can sometimes mean trustees feel under pressure to make a decision “on the day” when a matter is first brought to them for consideration, even if they don’t really feel that comfortable doing so.

It’s therefore important for trustees to take steps to safeguard against feeling bounced into making a decision prematurely.

This could be as simple as just explicitly asking “are we ready” at key stages in the decision-making process. For example -

1. Before the matter is presented to the Trustee board - are we ready to present it to the board?

2. At the start of the discussion – having seen the papers, are we ready to discuss the item with a view to making a decision today?

3. At the end of the discussion – having concluded the discussion, are we ready to make a decision?

If the answer to all three questions is a resounding Yes, that’s great. Crack on and make the decision.

If the answer is No. The next questions should be –

- What is stopping us?
- What do we need to be ready?
- When do we have make this decision by?
- This will then enable you to develop a plan for making the decision without undue delay or missing a deadline, rather than run the risk of appearing to just kick the can down the road.

If it’s just one factual point that needs checking, or someone just needs to give a green light, could you perhaps make a conditional or provisional decision i.e. we agree Y as long as X confirms Z. Once you get the confirmation, you would then be good to go without need for further discussion.

If it’s more complex than that, you may need further discussion to help identify the barriers and how they can be overcome so you can plan your next steps.

- Do you need more information? - if so, who needs to be asked what and by whom?

- Do you need some advice? – if so, who from and how do you get it?

- Do you need another stakeholder’s input (e.g. company, administrator or actuary?) – if so, who is going to reach out to them and how?

- Do you need training (to ensure you have the right skills and knowledge to make the decision)? – if so, who would be best placed to provide that training? When can you schedule it in?

- Do you need more time for discussion and debate? – if you’ve just run out of time, do you need an extra call/meeting or could you bring it to the next scheduled meeting?

- Do you need to wait for something else to happen? – if so, do you need to put the matter on hold, monitor developments and then bring it back to the trustee board once the position is clearer?

Once you’ve taken the extra steps, you should be in a position to make a much better, and a more secure, decision which everyone around the table will feel more comfortable with.

So when you next come to make a decision and you are looking at the options laid out in front of you, don’t forget to bear in mind the extra option which isn’t listed - the option to decide you aren’t ready to decide.

Deciding you aren’t ready to decide is a decision in itself. And it might be the right one.

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