Three Decision-making Pitfalls to Avoid
We make decisions day in and day out. Some are quick decisions we make unconsciously or without a second thought: latte or cappuccino? Regular or dark roast? Bangs, highlights or lowlights? Boot cut, boyfriend or skinny? Others, like marriage, health and family, we question, doubt or agonize over.
Reflecting back over my 25 years of leadership roles, the colleagues I’ve collaborated with, the data I’ve questioned, the feedback I’ve sought, the attorneys I’ve consulted and the cases I’ve studied, it hit me that as decisive as I like to think I am, I don’t make many business decisions entirely and completely on my own. Am I incapable of independent thought and reason? Are you?
Are we crazy?
The workplace is complex and, like a web, your decisions and those of others are intertwined. The impact of each is rarely limited to a small department or team. Rather, the impact is often felt throughout the organization.
As leaders, we are responsible for making sound, thoughtful decisions - no shooting from the hip allowed. Shooting from the hip may get you out of a sticky situation and some have even told me they shoot from the hip for fun, to see what reaction they can elicit. To each his own - loss of credibility is no fun for me.
There is one point that leaders tend forget when making a decision: your decision is yours and yours alone, regardless of how many people you spoke, consulted or debated with. The buck stops with you. If you can’t make a decision (analysis paralysis) and own it, step aside for a leader who will.
Mind Tools provides over 40 different decision-making techniques and there’s bound to be one there to assist you.
Leaders committed to making sound decisions consider these three decision making tripwires:
1. Narrow focus. With a narrow focus, leaders get an idea in their heads and can’t (or won’t) see beyond that idea. They miss important facts or perspectives outside of their immediate view. Leaders can counter a narrow focus by brainstorming other possible (or impossible options) or asking a trusted colleague for ideas they had not considered.
2. Confirmation bias. With confirmation bias, leaders develop a quick belief or assign a motive and seek out information that confirms that belief. Once confirmed, they stop there. Leaders can counter this by finding a devil or a trusted colleague to advocate for other options and permit them to challenge their thinking.
3. Short term emotion: It’s impossible to make a sound, thoughtful decision when leaders are emotionally connected to the outcome. Leaders can delay emotional decisions and substitute people or the processes involved with others to create a distance between themselves and their emotional triggers.
Above all, leaders committed to making sound decisions don’t assume they know more than they actually do. They are not crazy. They are smart. They know you cannot mimic your way to leadership.
Leadership comes from the core - decisions and all.
Lisa Rosendahl, SPHR has over 18 years of experience in human resources. She has provided leadership and expertise to full-cycle strategic HR operations in public and private manufacturing organizations and now, in federal health care. Lisa authors a personal blog at lisarosendahl.com where she writes on leadership and is a co-founder and the past editor of womenofhr.com.