Effective
Decision Making |
We
all need to make decisions. While we all know that this is part of life, we can
often find it difficult. It might be that:
We are afraid of getting it wrong
We procrastinate
We get lost in the detail and lose sight of the bigger picture
We worry about how others will react
We dont know what outcome we want to achieve Given
these potential hazards, what are my 10 key tips for more effective decision making? 01.
Recognise that very few decisions are a matter of life or death. Most decisions,
even if they dont work out quite as you expected are irrecoverable. Give
your self permission to make mistakes and learn from them. 02.
Avoid putting things off. If you know a decision needs to be made, find a way
of forcing yourself to move toward it. One way might be to set a deadline. 03.
Keep your focus on the bigger picture and make sure you do not get lost in the
detail. Keep asking what is important about this decision? 04.
Whenever you have to take a decision, remember that not everyone is going to agree
with it. As a leader or manager you are paid to take decisions and sometimes they
will be unpopular. 05.
Get clear about the outcome (result) you want before taking a decision so that
all discussion, debate, etc is linked back to the result. 06.
Make sure that you have the right information available to take the decision and
if not go and find it. 07.
Trust your intuition. Sometimes you will just have a hunch about something. Our
natural reaction is to dismiss it. Instead try using it. For example, imagine
you are part of a Senior Management Team discussing a new investment. You have
a hunch that it is good long term even though the numbers might indicate otherwise.
Throw it out you might just spark others to look at different perspectives. 08.
Look at the options and weigh up the pros and cons. 09.
Consider talking through the decision with a more experienced and trusted colleague
to broaden your perspective. 10.
Remind yourself that we are all human and mistakes will be made. The key thing
is to keep learning. Duncan
Brodie is a Leadership Development Coach and Management Trainer at Goals and Achievements
in UK.He
specialises in helping accountants and professionals to make the transition from
technical expert to manager and leader. With 25 years experince in accountancy,
he has personally experienced the challenges faced by professionals moving into
management and leadership roles.
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