Decision-Making

(Extracted from Mike Holt's new Leadership Skills book).

One of the first things you’ll notice when you start to take on more responsibility is that you’ll be constantly asked to make decisions. That can be one of the hardest responsibilities to accept—so much accountability resting on your shoulders! Some decisions might be easy while others will have tremendous implications and consequences.

Not every decision should be approached the same way, and so when you need to make one you should first ask yourself:

1. Is it important? What’s the expected impact of the decision? Some decisions have very little effect on your company or yourself. Identifying early on how important a decision is allows you to bring the proper focus and energy to making it. In general, the bigger the consequence or financial magnitude, the more thought you should put into decision-making process. You’ll want to consult with others, ask experts, and use all the resources you have available so you can make an informed decision.

2. Are you the right person to make the decision? People will often come to you and ask you to make a decision for them. Ask yourself if you’re the best person to answer their question, or if you should help them identify a path for themselves. Maybe someone else should make this decision now and in the future.

3. Is it life-changing? Ask yourself, “Is this decision a hair-cut or a tattoo?” Meaning, is this something that will be permanent or something that’s short-term? Obviously long-term decisions require more thought, energy, and processing time than something that will have little or no consequence.

Here are a few guidelines to help you with the decision making process:

• Be consistent. A big part of the decision-making process is training the people around you on the factors that you consider while making your decisions. If you create decision-making models you’ll reduce the need to constantly make new decisions! Your decisions can be based simply on the new facts, rather than worrying about what else might have changed that you’re not considering.

• Create systems. It’s really important to create systems for the decision-making process for any project, and especially for those that are repeated. These systems will establish how to gather and present facts and how to look at them systematically. This not only encourages consistency, but also allows your employees or others on the team to grow and to learn to make the same quality decisions you would make whether you’re there or not. For example, if you have a system, or a formula that you use as a basis for making a decision about ordering books or supplies, then the person responsible for presenting it to you for your approval should always use the same formula to come up with their proposal. If you do the research and perform the calculations the same way every time, then you’ll know what you’re saying yes or no to. You can always say, “Let’s do 80 percent.” Or, “Let’s do 110 percent.” based on current circumstances or compelling reasons, but your decision will be sound—for that moment!

Don’t think that having a system in place for making decisions means that you forego embracing change and being innovative. You should always be looking for better ways to do things – that’s how you grow, develop, and keep up with what’s going on around you. The stipulation is that there needs to be a compelling reason to change. If it’s not going to improve the outcome, then there really is no need to change it.

• Think through all of your alternatives. Even though you might have a set process for making decision, those rules might only apply to 85% of the situations. They’re in place as a default – if there’s no time to explore another way to do it, or the person who’s normally responsible is not there to make the decision. Then you fall back on what you know has worked in the past. But the truth is that critical thinking will need to be a part of all decisions. Don’t close your mind to a single point of view. Listen to others first. Get honest feedback, gather all the information possible, and push back until you completely understand the situation and the consequences of the decision you’re considering. Emotions, moods, and snap judgments are bound to influence you. Your final decision must be based on a clear and careful review of the situation, and the correct evaluation of the conditions, tempered by special circumstances, timing, and priorities. Then, a plan of action must be developed and put into place. Yes, it can be a complex and difficult undertaking! Don’t make decisions under pressure.

• Think on your feet. Sometimes it might be necessary and advantageous for you to “think on your feet” and make a decision in an instant that could greatly impact you and those around you. Initially this might make you uncomfortable, but remember that developing self-confidence comes from experience, preparation, and understanding the consequences of your decisions. That confidence is built using many small parts, such as reading, continuing education, learning from past decisions, and taking control of your emotions. The foundation of confidence is past success.

• Be focused. It’s very important for you to pay full attention when being asked to make a decision. If you’re only half listening because you’re trying to read your email, or trying to finish up on another project, you’ll only absorb part of what’s being said and so will only have part of the information, reasoning, and facts. You’ll only achieve part of what you should have and you’ll make bad decisions.

Decision-making and change

If you’re being asked to make a decision that involves a change from what was done before, look for the compelling reason for the change. What will you accomplish by making it? If there’s no compelling reason, there’s no reason to make the change. It’s very easy to say yes to every request, and then as the years go by, and you look back at the evolution of that project, department, or product you might find yourself completely off track from your original goals and not understand quite how you got there. Keep your long-range goals in mind when you make decisions. Go back and look at what you did the last time, so the good stuff isn’t overlooked. Look at the old and the new side by side so that you can properly evaluate them. If something worked, do it again but make a change if it’s going to improve the outcome. If not, continue doing it the same way. Of course, doing something the same way for years is no reason for you to continue doing it just because you’ve always done it that way without issues or problems. Decide on making a change after you’ve determined that you need to. Don’t have pre-conceived ideas of what will or won’t work. Try it. If you’re not sure, then do it anyway – it’s the only way you’ll get to find out for sure if it works.

Having to make so many decisions can be overwhelming, so you’ll need to find your stride. Confidence will come from experience. Also remember that being patient about making a decision is different than being indecisive. Sometimes it’s better to just let the situation play out; it will either resolve itself, or the decision will make itself obvious in time.

One great tip that I use for making decisions is that I don’t want any information about decisions that have to be made in the future. There’s so much information coming in at me, and so many decisions I’m asked to make, that if it’s about something that’s going to happen in the future, I don’t even want to hear about it now. Don’t tell me, because we won’t discuss it. It fills my head, distracts me from what I need to concentrate on, and there’s nothing I can do about it now anyway. Move what’s not important out to a future date and concentrate on the decision at hand.

Decision making gets easier with practice – slow, down, focus and apply the 80–20 Rule.