One of the toughest dilemmas a C-level leader will ever face is determining when to stand firm and when to compromise. Assuming that becoming a sell-out is not part of your short- or long-term business strategy, you’ll want to be absolutely certain that you nail this one. Otherwise, your entire organization – including your management team, board of directors and executive committee – will take a hit, and they will never forget your blunder.

Compromise is a sticky topic in corporate strategic managing… so sticky, in fact, that even Merriam-Webster can’t decide if compromise is good or evil. The dictionary offers two conflicting definitions for the word:

1. Settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions, or
2. A concession to something derogatory or prejudicial.

Clearly, the first definition makes it sound as if compromise is a positive thing to do while the second makes it sound like something to avoid at all costs. If you’re working in corporate strategic managing, you’ll encounter many opportunities for both types of compromise.

So how do you decide if you should bend a little or if you should stand firm? Here’s a good litmus test for making any such decision, professionally or otherwise:

If you would have to violate one or more of your core values or principles in order to affect a compromise, then you must stand firm.

There… that wasn’t so hard, was it? Actually, it usually is kind of hard, because although the test itself may be simple, your particular situation might not be so cut and dried. However, if you can manage to keep your core values and principles front and center where they belong, you should be able to stick to your guns and justify the decision to stand firm – not only to yourself, but also to your team.

Now let’s consider it from the flip side: when might it be OK to compromise? Begin your deliberations by applying this test:

If the situation isn’t critical AND/OR if there’s something of value to be gained by allowing others to have a certain level of influence, then you should probably compromise.

Occasionally you’ll have to compromise even when the situation is critical because there is a stalemate and no progress can be made without concessions – but again, you should only proceed toward that end if none of your core values or principles are threatened.

Facing this kind of scenario head on is a true test of your strategic leadership, communication and collaboration skills. But with the right frame of mind, you can pull it off and still maintain your integrity – and your people’s respect.

Are you in the middle of an awkward situation and having trouble deciding if a compromise is in order? As a C-level executive coach and strategic consultant, I’ve helped countless executives find a happy solution to some of their most challenging issues. Don’t hesitate to contact me for a free, no-risk executive consultation today.

Do you have an effective technique for deciding when to compromise or when to stand firm? Please use the comment form above to tell me about it!