The Art of Decision-Making in Leadership- in Conversation with Jason Harvey
Many professionals’ legacies rest on the decisions they’ve made throughout their careers. The higher one climbs in an organization, the steeper the consequences of choices are. This is why the power to confidently and intuitively make decisions is crucial in executing successful growth.
A growth innovator with an eye for identifying and creating value, Jason Harvey has years of experience optimizing business expansions and implementing successful go-to-market strategies. Jason leads with trust, collaboration, and inclusion, building cross-functional relationships that empower teams.
How has your decision-making process enabled you to achieve significant milestones in your career? How do you mentor and inspire others to develop these decision-making skills to bring them along on the journey? Can you walk us through the process of a critical decision you made in your career?
“As a father of four, I encourage my kids to make decisions early and often, from weekend plans to school schedules, because I believe decision-making is a skill you build through repetition, reflection, and courage. I take the same approach in leadership. Great leaders don’t avoid tough choices; they cultivate their ability to make them with clarity, consistency, and context. That muscle strengthens over time, through wins, through mistakes, and most importantly, through the discipline of reflection.
“I often remind my teams that not all decisions are dramatic, but every decision is developmental. The small, everyday choices, the ones that require pattern recognition, stakeholder alignment, or risk evaluation, are where great strategic instincts are built. Just like in sports, reps matter. And the leaders who sharpen their judgment over time eventually gain the confidence to make the right call when it really counts.
“That growth mindset around decision-making is something I actively try to model and mentor. I push my teams and mentees to own choices, not defer them. I ask them to articulate their reasoning, challenge assumptions, and take accountability for outcomes. And I always make space to reflect — because that’s where the feedback loop lives. Every outcome, win or lose, should make you sharper.
“A critical decision early in my tenure at BET+ really shaped my leadership approach. We were preparing to launch the platform and had to choose between leveraging an existing data infrastructure used by other parts of the company or building a new tech stack from the ground up. The first option was faster, cheaper, and familiar. The second was riskier, more resource-intensive, but offered more long-term flexibility and control.
“The conventional move would have been to take the existing platform and get to market quickly. But I knew that if we were serious about building a best-in-class streaming experience for Black audiences, we needed the ability to truly understand and act on our first-party data. That meant investing in something custom, something built for our objectives, not inherited from the larger organization’s goals.
“It was a heavy decision, one of my first as a new leader in a high-visibility role. But I trusted the process I’d honed over the years: define the outcome, weigh tradeoffs, involve the right voices, and anticipate long-term impact. We chose to build. It took longer but that foundation became a key strategic advantage. It allowed us to personalize content, market more efficiently, and retain more subscribers. Today, that flexibility continues to serve us as we grow and innovate.
“I share that story not just because it was the right call but because it was a moment of insight for my team. They saw the rigor behind the decision. They understood the “why.” And because I brought them into the process, they became more confident in making decisions themselves.
“Ultimately, leadership is about scaling sound decision-making. Not just at the top, but across the organization. If I can mentor leaders to think critically, own their perspective, and learn from outcomes, then every decision becomes a moment of growth and not just for the business, but for the people who power it.”
Thanks for sharing, Jason.
***
Jason Harvey is a C-level business leader with over 20 years of experience growing both small and multinational companies. He specializes in developing innovative strategies that transform businesses, optimize operations, and create lasting value. Passionate about community empowerment, Jason focuses on fostering inclusive teams and driving positive impact.
Connect with Jason Harvey on LinkedIn
