Decisions are at the center of all of our daily managerial and leadership activities. Some
decisions are fairly easy; there’s a policy in place that dictates the correct option given a set of
circumstances. Others, including choices surrounding direction, problem-solving and
investment are less programmed or structured and generally involve higher stakes.
It is this latter grouping of unstructured issues that tests your abilities as a decision maker
and impacts your ultimate success as a manager.
Get these issues right more often than not and you prosper. Get them wrong too often and
those responsible for selecting you for added responsibilities will lose faith and look to
individuals they can trust with the big decisions.
Here are 7 ideas you can use immediately to strengthen your handling of difficult decisions.
Emotions and big, complex decisions do not mix. They either motivate a rush to judgment or
slow our process down to a crawl. When we are feeling pressured, our logical brain is in the
background while the rest of our gray matter works overtime to figure out how to move
beyond the stress.
Guidance: If the situation is emotionally turbocharged, resist the rush to decide and step back
and gain some help in looking at the problem and options objectively.
Use the tools outlined below to help reframe and assess your options and expectations.
Research shows that when facing the same problem described as either a positive or a
negative, we will make different decisions. It pays to look for solutions to complex problems
from multiple angles by adjusting your framing.
Guidance: Use multiple frames and strive to develop independent decisions for each frame. For
example, if a competitor makes a bold new move in the marketplace, you might perceive this as
a big negative for your firm. This frame might demand a me-too response. Instead, reframe the
issue to indicate that the competitor has chosen to focus in this new area and will be less able
to invest in or respond to your moves in other areas. Your challenge is now to identify potential
areas of opportunity that the competitor’s move has left uncovered. Framing makes a
difference.
While we all talk about data-driven decisions, we must beware anchoring on only the data that
supports our position and ignoring other data or, drawing imperfect inferences from the limited
data in front of us. And of course, the quality and reliability of the data should always be
questioned.
Guidance: Resist simply drawing on the data in front of you and ask: “What data do I/we need
to make this decision?” Search for data that sheds light on the issue, regardless of whether it
supports or refutes a direction. Ask for help to evaluate the completeness and objectivity of the
data, and encourage others to challenge your inferences to minimize the chances of you
selectively interpreting the information.
Wherever humans gather, we bring our biases, histories, and values to bear on our thinking.
Power structure or personality issues in a group setting can suppress open dialog. Groups are
prone to falling in love with their solution, suppressing objective and outside views. The theory
suggests that a group should be able to make a decision superior to that of the smartest
individual in the group. However, there are more than a few complex human behaviors that get
in the way of this ideal but noble outcome.
Guidance: Get help. Invite an objective outsider to monitor group conversations, challenge
assumptions and identify potential process pitfalls. This simple step is often ignored, yet it is
low-cost and can potentially keep you and your team from stepping off a decision cliff.
While adjusting a decision based on lessons learned or the availability of new and compelling
evidence is appropriate, too many managers fall victim to self-doubt or the continued lobbying
efforts of others. Change course too frequently and the stress and frustration on your team will
rise.
Guidance: Use a decision journal and capture in long form, the issue, the frame(s), the
assumptions, the expectations and the time-frame for evaluating results. Have the individuals
involved in the decision-making process sign the log! It is amazing how firm a decision becomes
when you have to sign a document indicating that you agree with the decision. And of course,
make certain that there is a change-management process in place if events truly necessitate a
course adjustment.
Approach strengthening your decision-making capabilities like you would your fitness program,
by evaluating progress and outcomes and adjusting your future behaviors accordingly.
Guidance: Keep a personal decision-journal in addition to the group journal suggested above.
Make it a practice to regularly return to this journal and compare outcomes versus
expectations. If they differ materially, re-examine your assumptions. Look for flaws in your
thinking or problems with data. Take the time to reflect on lessons learned. Jot down how you
will improve the process the next time you face a similar decision.
We live and work in a world of projects and teams, and effective managers invest time in
helping their teams learn to effectively navigate the sticky decision-related issues they
encounter.
Guidance: All of the lessons above apply to groups. Teach your teams how to use multiple
frames; how to assess data needs and how to evaluate data integrity. Teach them to avoid the
traps by involving objective outsiders and require them to log decisions and expectations. If the
team will exist for more than the duration of an individual project, hold the team accountable
for assessing and measurably strengthening decision-making effectiveness over time.
Decisions give life to actions, and as the late management guru, Peter Drucker suggested,
“actions in the present are the one and only way to create the future.” In my experience,
managers who deliberately work on strengthening their decision-making effectiveness, prosper.
Not only do they make the big decisions that set actions in motion, but they develop a batting
average that impresses bosses and earns added responsibilities. Quit winging your decisions
and implement a deliberate process to make more effective decisions and to strengthen your
effectiveness over time.