Remedies to the fatal discontentment.
This tactic ignores the fact that all decisions are human there’s no machine to make them for us and history tells us that the greatest decision always involved a combination of human genius, passion and determination. Emotions flared, for good and ill. In fact, when you read history, you become more and more fascinated by the human drama that unfolds; you might even say that history is nothing but drama. The obvious lesson is to welcome the human element, it can’t be eliminated anyway, not in the real world. If you embrace your human side with total awareness, your decisions will always turn out to be win-win. Either you will make the right decision, or if something goes wrong, you will learn from your mistakes and march forward to make better decisions in the future. This is the attitude that all highly successful people adopt.
These are the ingredients present in great leaders, and it’s ironic that they are almost completely ignored when case studies focus so much on risk versus reward, flow charts, statistical trends, market movement, etc. Those ingredients can and probably should be calculated by a computer. The human element generally enters the picture when a business school or government class studies the hugely bad decision made, for example, in the run-up to the Great Recession. Then it becomes glaringly apparent that greed, rivalry, stubbornness, denial, pride, and a wholesale lack of awareness were crucial. An effective decision is different than a “good” or “bad” decision. There is a middle ground that allows for the choice to have impact, although it may not have as much an impact as anticipated. Leaders need to recognize the difference and not categorize every decision in two simple categories.
Sometimes it is very easy to recognize a good decision, such as when sales numbers increase or a new employee rises to the top. Other decisions may require more reflection to determine if it was the right decision or if another option was better. Did the decision solve the problem or move your business forward? Reasoning has its roots in the here-and-now, and in facts. It can, however, ignore emotional aspects to the decision, and in particular, issues from the past that may affect the way that the decision is implemented.
This evaluation process is critical to gaining experience in making decisions and to improve a leader’s ability to make effective decisions. By applying lessons learned, a leader can recognize similar situations and feel more confident with other choices made and courses of action pursued. The key is to be effective, not necessarily just right or wrong. One of the greatest skills a leader can have is the ability to make effective business decisions. Business leaders make dozens of decisions every day that influence the success of the company while also having an impact on employees, customers or the marketplace. Developing such a skill requires a combination of education, experience and intuition. A large component of luck is good decision making. The point is: For the most part, the quality of your life is a result of the quality of your decisions. If you are making a decision about whether or not to stay in a relationship, pretend that your friend is in the relationship and not you. You would then consider the relationship from the perspective of both people involved in the relationship. You then may think about ways your friend could solve some of the problems in the relationship and what the different outcomes could be. If you are planning to buy a new car, some of the pros would be having a good warranty, the latest technology, or better gas mileage. Some of the cons may be a higher car payment and increased car insurance. You would consider these factors along with your financial situation and your current transportation situation. You should think about the best things and worst things that can happen as a result of your decision. You should also consider what will happen if you do not make a decision at all.
The good news is that you can improve your decision skills. Even though these skills are critical for success in life, and most of us have had little or no formal training in how to make decisions, you’re not captive to learn only through experience. The basic knowledge you need to have to become more effective at decision making can be condensed and summarized into a short, easy-to-read book. And here it is! In the following pages, you learn the steps toward making optimum decisions and the roadblocks you need to be aware of that can detour this goal.
Perfecting your decision skills doesn’t guarantee that all your decisions will come out the way you had hoped. Good decision skills focus on the means you use to reach a decision, not on the ends. You can’t control outcomes. You can only control the process for arriving at those outcomes. As the old adage goes, however, the race doesn’t always go to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet. Improving your decision skills just increases your chances of winning life’s races and battles. If you’re tasked with deciding how to outline your company’s strategy for the next 10 years but you’ve never made a strategic outline, chances are you should defer to the next subject-matter expert.
The point is, for a decision to positively impact others, foster opportunity or any of the mentioned characteristics, you need to be cognizant of when you’re operating within your circle of influence and when you’re pushing its boundaries. Don’t be that person who clutches to decision-making authority because it makes you feel important, defer to the person closest to the problem. Decision-making is both an art and a science. Incorporate the above nine characteristics into your choice architecture to feel more confident, and watch others do the same. With clarity also comes accountability. It’s not easy hiding behind something that outlines, in detail, the roles, responsibilities or expectations associated with a new decision. Sometimes people become so paralyzed with the fear of making a wrong decision that they panic and lose sight of what they’re trying to accomplish. This hinders making any decision.
Julie Agnes Omeike
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