Bad decisions can ruin an organization andkill careers. Have you been given feedback that you need to improve yourdecision making? If so, you are not alone. Managers often get poor grades from360 degree feedback assessments in the areas of quality and timeliness ofdecisions.
Decision making, like any other managerialor leadership skill, can be improved. The first step to improvement isawareness of a problem, and the only way to uncover any potential decision makingblind spots is to ask for feedback.
See How to Get Candid Feedback for 10 waysto get candid feedback. In addition, you could meet with a number of directreports, peers, and your boss and ask the following questions:
1. As an organization or team, are we clearon who is responsible for making key decisions?
2. Are there bottlenecks? If so, why?
3. Do I get the appropriate amount of inputbefore I make a decision? Too much? Too little?
4. Do I gather the appropriate amount andquality of information? Too much? Too little?
5. On a scale of 1-10, how would you ratethe quality and timeliness of my decisions? What would it take to go from ___to 10?
6. Review a few recent decisions – werethey right? Were they executed well?
Just be sure to brush up on your listeningskills first.
Once you have a baseline, it’s time tolearn about decision making from the experts. Who do you know that always seemsto consistently make the right call in a timely manner? Talk to those people,and find out what process and rules and thumb they are using.
Talking to others doesn’t always help, asmany people that are good at something are “unconscionably competent” and can’tteach others what they do well.
In addition to learning directly fromothers, here are a few tips that I’ve found helpful to share with leaders tohelp improve decision making:
1. Be clear on what you are deciding. A “decision statement” is a clear and accurate decision of thedecision at hand. The most common mistake people make is that they frame theirdecisions too narrowly, often as an “either or” choice. For example, “should Ibuy a new car” offers only two choice – yes, or no. A way to expand thisdecision statement could be: “Which type of vehicle should I buy?” Or, tobroaden it even more, it could be: “Decide on the best means oftransportation”.
Always start with a decision makingstatement, and run it by a few others to make sure you’re asking the rightquestion before you start evaluating options.
2. Decision criteria. When you have the right criteria, it’s easier to evaluatealternatives. For example, for the car purchase decision, criteria couldinclude cost, style, gas mileage, and safety. This is another opportunity toask key stakeholders for criteria, especially if the outcome of the decision willimpact others or you will need the support of others to implement.
3. Establish clear decisions roles. The lack of clarity over who has ultimate decision authority vs.who should just provide input is probably the biggest single organizationaldecision making bottleneck. For complex, big decisions, involving multiplefunctions, regions, or partners, use the RAPID model (I believe developed byBain and Company). For big decisions, establish who is the:
R = Recommend: the person responsible formaking the recommendation to gain approval for the decision.
A = Agree: anyone who needs to agree withthe decision. Similar to an “I”, but with more power and influence.
P = Perform – the person who actually hasto carry out the decision (often left out of the decision but stuck with themess).
I = Input – anyone who should give input tothe decision.
D = Decide – the person with ultimate andfinal decision authority. There should only be one D, not multiple Ds or no Dat all.
4. Clear your mind. Most people think they can multitask, but when they do, they runthe risk of making poor decisions. Big decisions require focus and clarity.“Mindfulness” is the new buzzword, and there is substantial research to showthe importance of being present and focused when making decisions.
5. Review the decision with the “anti-you”. A suggestion from organizational psychologist Nick Tasler.According to Tasler and others, “the vast majority of judgement errors can beeliminated by simply broadening our frame of reference. The quickest, easiest,and most effective way to do this is by consulting an “anti-you” before youmake a decision”. Another term used to describe “anit-yous” is “PNLUs”, or“people not like us”. Getting diverse perspectives will usually generate moreinnovative solutions.
See 11 Ways for Leaders to EncourageInnovation from Their Employees for more on generating innovative alternativesto decisions.
Try a few of these techniques and othersand with continued practice and feedback the quality and timeliness of yourdecisions should begin to improve.