Decision Making

Happy Thursday All,

As a leader, are you prepared to make the hard decisions?  Can you make good decisions or does it feel you are making bad decisions?  What is it about making decisions that people struggle with?  Many times people don't make a decision because they are afraid of the outcome.  Making the decision should really be the easy part, gathering the correct information to make the decision is the difficult part. 

Here is a few points to ponder as you make those difficult decisions as a leader.

Do I have a clear, quality perspective?  Ask why over and over.  Dig into and get as much information from other people, my team, my mentor, etc.

What am I afraid of?  Where is my fear?  What is causing me to worry?  What is causing me concern? 

What options need to be removed?  Things like, "I'm not willing to make this decision if this happens.  I'm not willing to make the decision if that happens."  

What is the impact?  How is this going to impact my team?  Is this going to impact revenues?  Is this going to have a negative effect?  

Is this long term, short term, or a permanent decision?  Can the decision be changed if it's wrong?

What would happen if we don't make a decision?  Is not making a decision, a decision?

What is the worst thing that could happen?

How do I feel about the decision?  What is your gut telling you?  If you have asked all of the above questions and you still feel weird in your stomach about making the decision, then pull back.

As a leader, you have to make decisions.  I make a lot of bone head decisions and typically it is because I haven't gathered all the correct information.  As with all other Thursday Think Tanks, I write on this topic as I try to improve my own ability in this area.  I want to spark the conversation because that will help us all gather more information so that we can make better decisions about the topic at hand. 

Don't be paralyzed in decision making.  If you do your research and gather the correct information and ask the questions above, just make the decision.  

Have a great Thursday,

Chris